Heaven Awaits
by fuuko no miko
Summary: Four hundred years ago...theirs was a love story waiting to be unfurled...four hundred years later they returned to fulfill it. Starring Fuuko Kirisawa of the Hokage and Tokiya Mikagami of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. Please R & R!
1. Prologue

_HEAVEN AWAITS_   
_by Fuuko no miko_   
_Prologue_

_Author's Notes:_   
_This was one of those ideas that go into your head and that just *refuses* to go away, just like Promises and two other fics I had lurking in my brain (one Mikoto and another which is Rurouni Kenshin). I wanted this to turn out a bit different from my usual WAFF menu ^^, hopefully it would do that in the course of time. It's a little more bloody and maybe a bit more violent. Perhaps a bit more adult too. Some of the characters I *really* had to alter and the storyline I had to twist in different directions to accomodate this idea, so please don't go ballistic if anyone in this ficcy goes major OOC. It's only fanfic after all. Okay, here goes..._

_A little Niponggo for those who aren't well-versed in the language:_   
_Kami- God_   
_Oni- Demo_   
_Oniisan- big brother_   
_Imoutosan- little sister_   
_Sayonara- goodbye_   
_Baka- idiot_   
_Gomen nasai- I'm sorry_   
_Arigatou- thank you_   


Such an irony... 

Ironic indeed. 

That the best swordsman in all of the ninja village... 

Was a woman. 

Every inch a woman if the truth be acknowledged. From the long, silvery tresses that the wind so often made fun of when set loose from her favored black ribbons, to the provocative curves that Kami-sama had granted her-a blessing or a curse- depended on the day or the situation. Her eyes were said to be most challenging when their crystal blue stare was thrown into one's way, and her full pink lips held promise to those who would dare seek their texture. She was one of the fairest, if not *the* fairest of the young, unmarried maidens of the ninja clan of Phantom Shadows and one of the most skilled as well. And while others had merely physical attractiveness, she had a head to match her outer appearance. 

Her family was proud of her being such. 

She was not quite as sure. 

For the most part she had been loathing rather than revelling her God-given looks, especially when the more brazen of the young warriors from the village paid homage to this fact. Their attention was more annoying than the little children she had to forcibly babysit when the older Hokage members were off to battle. She would only reply to their promises of undying love a snort or a snide remark, if they were lucky. 

The more shy ones simply stared and sighed. Knowing she was quite the untouchable, unreachable. 

All the more making her desirable. A most coveted prize. 

And whilst the men adored her, the women disliked, but for the most part, envied her. She was beautiful, intelligent, talented and respected. And if she had any more than this, the women of the Hokage village would probably have plotted her early demise. 

Which was probably why Kami-sama had given her a little dose of tragedy to even out the odds. 

Her parents have been taken away from her at a young age. They had died in one of the earlier battles their then relatively young and inexperienced leader Ohka led. It was a raid against a rival ninja tribe that ended tragically in the loss of the lives of many a Hokage. Her parents included. She was then a little girl of 10. Since then she had promised to avenge her parents' killing, and had trained strictly supervised by her uncle, Kyuso, one of Ohka's finest men. She had since become one of the ninja clan's best sword wielders. Only her gender sometimes got in the way of being involved in the battlefield. Ohka, wary of the protection of women and children, limited her exposure to the tribal wars that went on, despite her skills. It incensed her that he should think her inferior to his other men, thus relegating her to protector status, safeguarding the village when the rest of them went out to the killing fields. 

"It's for your own good...and besides, don't you find it exciting to be here and protect everyone else? I trust you enough to be able to shield the village should our enemies come here." he would reason out. 

"Ofcourse, Ohka-sama, I understand." she would say obediently, and curse him under her breath. 

Such a day is today. Majority of the male warriors had gone out to be on the lookout for the rumoured arrival of the Oni, Oda Nobunaga, who was said to be on his way towards conquering Japan, and eliminating the ninja clans who dare opposed him. She had so badly wanted to come along, only to be shunned again by Ohka's repeated reasonings of having her protect the village. 

"Kuso." she muttered as she watched the departing group of ninjas make their way through the thick forest. "Ohka-sama always underestimates me! Hell, I can do better than the rest of his footsoldiers put together!" She slammed her fist against her palm. 

"Now is that an appropriate word a young lady should utter?" a voice came from behind. 

A smile lifted a corner of her lips. She turned around and threw her arms affectionately around the bearer of the voice. "Oniisan!!!" She hugged him tightly, expressing her longing for him for the past few weeks. He had been sent to spy on Oda Nobunaga and the moments she spent with him were few and far between. He was, after the demise of her celibate uncle a year back, her last remaining blood kin. 

"Now, now, don't get mushy with me. You'll lose your ice maiden front." he laughed mirthlessly, returning her bearhug. 

"I don't care. With you I've always been mush." she replied, withdrawing from him and looking through his gentle brown eyes. "I missed you terribly." 

He ruffled her silvery hair with his huge palm. "I missed you too, imotosan. Very much." His gaze shifted to a more serious note. "You know why Ohka-sama wouldn't allow you to go to the battlefields too often. It isn't safe...especially for a pretty young lady like yourself." 

She snorted and turned away. "I am *not* a lady! I am a soldier! Kami, I am but his most able warrior and he dare leaves me to damn babysit!!! I would not stand up to this!" 

Her older brother put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you feel overlooked, imoutosan. But this is the best for you. We all know what a fine warrior you are, and we recognize that. That's why Ohka-sama trusts you with protecting our home. Think of all the lives you're responsible for. A whole village! Don't you think that's important?" 

"But I'm missing all the action!" she complained. "I don't want to be cooped up in the village until I'm senile and brittle-boned! I want to be in the fields, defending the honor of The Hokage Clan, wielding the ensui and making our parents proud...I want to come home a hero...like you." she lowered her defensive stance and embraced her brother's massive arm. 

"You've always made me proud, imoutosan." he told her affectionately. "Always. And," he paused, "You know Ohka-sama thinks highly of you. He wouldn't leave the village to a handful of men if he didn't believe in their abilities to defend it. You're one of them. An unsung hero..." 

She pouted. "But I don't want to be an unsung hero...I..." 

"Usui-san!" another ninja called. "Hurry up over there, we'll miss the troop!" 

"I'm coming, Yukaze-san!" he replied. The Hokage ninja turned and gave his younger sibling a tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yukaze will have my hide. Sayo-nara, imoutosan. Promise me you wont get married when I'm gone." he teased. 

"Most certainly not!" the silver-haired beauty protested. She held her brother tight, "Sayo-nara, oniisan." she whispered, afterwhich she let him go towards his awaiting companion. 

Usui turned towards his best friend and confidante, Yukaze. He looked over his shoulder as his sister waved goodbye to him. "You know you should try and get to know Yukaze here a little more...he's very domesticated! Perfect husband material!!!" he joked, thus receiving an elbow from the other man. 

"Baka..." she continued to smile and wave at her brother whilst reserving her inaudible comment to the man walking at her brother's side. She had known Yukaze for almost as long as she can remember and the two-syllabled word synonymous for idiocy was the best description for him. He was a warrior like her oniisan...an excellent one if she would take her older brother's word for it. A fact she was yet to see. His rumoured fighting skills she had not witnessed herself because as far as she can recall, Kaze had *never* beaten her in a sword duel...or any duel for that matter. Even if he used his madougu, the fuujin, like a pro, he was never able to defeat her everytime she issued a challenge. He had a tendency to be awkward and distracted everytime they faced in battle practice. 

"And oniisan thinks he's husband material..." she rolled her eyes heavenward. Although she knew Kaze was an excellent cook and an organized housekeeper, those qualifications left much to be desired, for her at least. She didn't want a maid. She wanted to be swept off her feet by someone who had a nerve of steel but a heart of gold, like oniisan. It wouldn't hurt if he was good-looking either. Yukaze, well, he just didn't seem to fit the part. He didn't have much nerves, if it was to be based on the fact he gets tongue-tied everytime he spoke to her. A heart of gold? If he was her onii-san's best friend it was possible. As for looks, Yukaze was no head turner, but he had it, albeit it was more subtle than striking. His purple mop of unruly hair wasn't much to go on, though he had the most expressive eyes, whose hue varied from a bluish purple to deep violet especially when the sunlight danced in their luminous pools... 

"Mizumi-san..." 

She whirled around to see the Hokage chief's wife staring at her. The younger girl quickly took to one knee. 

"Kagero-sama..." 

Kagero pulled her up to stand. "No need for that, Mizumi-san." she smiled. "Come, we must make rounds of the fortifications for the village." 

"Hai, Kagero-sama." 

The older woman led the way as the younger one followed, all the while saying a silent prayer for her brother and his companions. 

Three days and three nights Mizumi burned the midnight oil. Taking her position as sentinel amidst the tall, forest trees and diligently keeping watch. Her well-trained eyes scrutinizing every nook and cranny her vision would encompass. She counted the hours, awaiting for any signal of her brother and his companions' return. She gave them another day and decided, along with the other footsoldiers, to send a search party should they not return on the fourth moon. She had just decided on this matter as she jumped from her high perch and walked back towards the sleeping village. She was halfway there when she heard a movement amongst some bushes. 

"Who goes there!?" she quickly drew one of her kodachis and pushed the offending bushes off the way, preparing to pounce at the source of the disturbance. 

"Gomen..." 

The frail, dark-haired boy initially looked frightened seeing her sharp weapon. But this he quickly concealed with a poker face, pretending not to fear, yet the morsel of bread he held fell on the ground as his tiny hands trembled. 

Mizumi's heart softened seeing this child's attempt to be brave in face of her. She immediately resheathed her blade and bent on her knees. Her face leveled with the little boy's. "Gomen nasai, Kurei-chan. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?" 

He flinched when she attempted to touch him. He bit his lip as he tried to hold back tears, of fear or of sorrow, she could not tell. She turned to a pouch bag hanging on her side and took out a few pieces of rice balls she had no appetite to take for supper. "Are you hungry? Here...I haven't touched these." she offered gently. "You can have them if you want." Kurei eyed her skeptically, but quickly snatched the food from her hands in case she had a change of heart. He mumbled a weak "Arigatou" before dashing off towards the direction of the village outskirts. 

The silver-haired girl stood up and followed Kurei with her gaze. She had known about the child's exile from the village, as well as that of his mother's, the once proud and haughty Reina. She pitied the boy. An unfortunate victim of circumstance, he was. She was thankful she never had to go through what he did, and was impressed by the child's fortitude in such a situation. Other children would have broken down if put in his place. 

She was pondering on this thought when a brisk movement from behind a tree took her by surprise. Before she could think of a proper response, Mizumi found herself getting tackled to the ground by some heavy force. Her scream of alarm was muffled by a strong hand covering her mouth. Her eyes widened as she caught the sight and scent of blood on the palm covering her mouth. She kicked and thrashed violently beneath her captor as her left hand located the kodachi by her waist. Her struggle was only put to a halt when her eyes met those of her assailant, as a pair of familiar purple-glazed pools looked back at her, a fresh scar crossing their dark-lashed lids and a smear of blood brandished above those arched brows. 

"Y-Yukaze-san?" she managed to sputter out as his hand fell from her mouth. 

"T-tasuke...te..." he mumbled before losing consciousness. 

******** "Nooo! It's not true! You're lying!" 

Yukaze, brave man that he was, was almost afraid to look up and meet the accusing stare of one Mizumi. The pain in her voice pierced through his heart. Seeing the same in her eyes would too much for him to bear. Too much. For if his news hurt her, all the more did it hurt him. 

Recieving no answer, the silver-haired maiden seized the injured young man by his shoulders, shaking him violently oblivious of the bandages the covered his head and half his torso. 

"Tell me you lie, Yukaze-san!" she wailed in anger. "You lie! It's not true..." 

Finally, Yukaze summoned the courage and met Mizumi's icy blue gaze. He tried, but with much difficulty, not to be affected by the pain he saw in their depths. "What good would it do to me to lie to you Mizumi-san?" he answered in a hoarse voice he almost didn't recognize. "We did what we could...but we were outnumbered, we were..." 

"Noooo...." she turned away, letting him go abruptly and ran towards the open window of her house. Once there, she could no longer control the tears that cascaded from her silken cheeks. She sobbed. "It's not...it can't be..." 

Despite his condition, Yukaze got up to his feet and cautiously approached Mizumi. He risked a verbal assault by putting his hand on her shoulder. She didn't react, however, merely finding comfort in the well of tears that fell from her eyes. 

Silently he pulled from his leather bag a bloodied weapon and handed it to the crying girl. 

"Oniisan..." her voice croaked as she reached for her brother's madougu, the Hyomon en. "Oniisan...how could you leave me..." and with that she collapsed into Yukaze's arms, releasing her agony in a violent outburst of tears. "How could he leave me like this, Yukaze? How could he...it's not fair..." she cried like a wounded animal. 

The other ninja simply kept quiet as the young woman pounded angrily at his broad chest. He held her close, trying to comfort her with what was left of his strength. He bit his lip as he remembered how his best friend had received a fatal stab in the chest trying to save one of the older Hokage ninjas from a blow from one of Nobunaga's men. He had shed unmanly tears as Usui made him promise to take care of Mizumi, handing him the hyomon en as he recited his dying wish. That promise kept him alive as he fought to survive the unexpected battle their group of spies had gone through. Only he had lived to warn the village of the coming attack. 

"Yukaze-san..." 

The young ninja looked up to see their leader standing by the open doorway. 

"You are needed." Ohka said simply. His eyes, turning sympathetically towards Mizumi, who had lost her last remaining kin in the previous skirmish. "I'm sorry to hear about Usui, Mizumi-san. Your brother...was a great warrior..." 

Surprisingly, the young woman said nothing. But her eyes told a different story as she looked back at Ohka with an icy glare that momentarily shielded her wounded soul. "He is...Ohka-sama," she returned flatly. "He will be missed..." 

Yukaze withdrew his comforting hold on Mizumi and followed his leader. "I'll be back, Mizumi-san..." he told her. 

As the door slammed shut behind her, Mizumi fell on her knees and slumped on the floor. "Oniisan..." she cried, holding the hyomon en against her chest. "Oniisan...your death will not be in vain...I'll get Nobunaga for this, I promise you...I'll kill him...I'll..." 

In her solitude, Mizumi released full-blown the overwhelming tide of sorrow that enveloped her.   
******* 

"We cannot use our madougus." Ohka said finally, speaking firmly above the vehement protests of his fellow ninjas. 

"But Ohka-san, we have a standing chance against those demons if we use our psychic devices!" one ninja exclaimed. 

"Don't be a fool Ashuro." an elder ninja interrupted. "It is as plain as day. Nobunaga has us severely outnumbered. We can fight all we want, but our chance of victory is as small as a grain of sand. We could probably fend them off a day, maybe two. But he'll come back with even more men. Our madougus may be powerful, but even so, you cannot attack should ten men come attacking you at the same time." 

"Hajime-sama is right." spoke another. "I agree with Ohka-sama. Let us hide our madougus and fight to the death. Personally I cannot allow my precious Kougan anki to fall into the wrong hands. I'd rather die knowing I have not given an evil man a weapon to destroy the world with." 

"It is a day of reckoning my friends. This is, without doubt, our last hurrah. We cannot allow our weapons to be used to hurt people. They have not been created for that purpose." Ohka spoke with authority. "I have discussed with all of you the advantages and disadvantages of this situation. What say you?" 

"I say we fight to the last of our breath." the one named Hajime spoke. 

"I am with you, Ohka-sama, Hajime-sama." another one piped up. 

And it was followed by a chorus of everyone in the room, a chant of unity for fighting in what they had concieved to be their last battle. Ohka nodded grimly. It was going to be their last. If only they could spare their families from this terrible war. If only... 

******* 

"You're not going." Yukaze stated as he watched Mizumi dress up for battle. Sheathing her sword and putting shurikens in her leather pouch. She tied her silvery mane with a black bow, seemingly not hearing what the wounded ninja was saying. 

"Speak for yourself." she stated bluntly as she headed towards the door. 

"Mizumi-san....I can't let you go!" Yukaze, with much difficulty standing, dragged himself towards the young girl. He blocked the way with his larger form. His violet gaze met Mizumi's blue ones. "I promised your brother I'm going to take care of you and that's what I intend to do. You are not going out there." 

"You can't even take care of yourself." she snorted as she tried to pass him unsuccessfully. 

Yukaze stood straight and held Mizumi by the shoulders. He looked her square in the eye. "Mizumi-san, please...don't do this...I...I don't want to see you hurt...or dead...Mizumi...I...I love you..." 

If he had wanted to stun her, he could not have used a better weapon to hit her with. MIzumi gaped at her brother's best friend as if he'd grown a second head, and even a third one. Yukaze seemed to have been surprised by what he said as well. He bit his lip and tightened the grip on Mizumi's shoulders. As though flinching inwardly from the boldness of his declaration and her as yet to be seen response. 

Wiping the look of surprise that registered on her face upon his announcement, the cold expression returned to the female ninja's features. "If you're saying that just to stop me..." 

"I'm not...I mean...I don't...I mean what I've said Mizumi-san...I do love you. Since we were kids...I..." 

A fire-lit arrow whizzed pass betwen their faces, finding its target on the wall beside them. A sense of reality hit them and seemingly breaking the momentary trance they were under. 

"They're here." he spoke for both of them. 

Mizumi found that opportunity to break away from what she deemed a most awkward moment and somehow thanking Nobunaga for interrupting them. For once she would've found herself without a retort to reply him with. 

She felt his hand touch her shoulder as she proceeded out the door. 

"I'm coming with you." he declared firmly, indicating there was no turning back. "I will fight them to the last of my breath...." he sighed. "For you and Usui..." 

Mizumi nodded. 

The clash of metal and the screams of determined warriors drowned the usual serenity of the Hokage village. Everywhere there was the spew of blood, the cry of agony, the sound of pain. Mizumi tried not to let the horrifying sight overwhelm her as she saw her beloved village get engulfed in the violent tide of war. She fought her way gallantly, showing the men she had taken down that she was the gifted warrior her family had become so proud of. She only wished Ohka-sama had given her a chance to use the ensui. She would've wiped them all with her madougu, if only... 

"Kurei-chan..." the mumble escaped her lips as she saw the tiny five-year old crying helplessly beside his dead mother. But it was not that which so much as caught her attention as the soldier who had seen the boy and who proceeded to run towards him with his battle axe. 

"He's only a boy!" she cried in protest as she picked up her feet and sped towards the two of them. 

Kurei held a silent scream in his mouth as he saw the huge soldier approach him with a huge axe. He was trying to recall how to emit those magical flames from his hand when he felt another body from a different direction tackle him. His eyes widened as he saw his attacker fall forward whereas he fell backward. He thought the big man was going for him but realized a second later that he had fallen on his face. Dead. 

Mizumi opened her eyes, certain that she had taken a deathblow on her back as she shielded Ohka's older son from the attack of a maniac. She was suprised when she saw the pool of blood and realized it had not been her own. 

"Run, Kurei, run..." she instructed the boy as she got up and picked her kodachi and ascertaining that her adversary had indeed fallen. She was about to do it herself when she heard a moan from not too far away and recognized the voice. 

"Yukaze..." 

The bearer of the spoken name lied in a pool of his blood, Mizumi realized. She gasped as she saw a nasty-looking gash upon his chest. He held on to it, oblivious to the pain, a strange smile of satisfaction painted across his lips. 

"What are you smiling about, you...you...idiot?" Mizumi accused angrily as she kneeled beside him, ripping off his clothing to examine the depth of the wound. She tried not to react as she saw its fatal nature. 

"Did I get him?" Yukaze tried to get the words out as the young girl attempted to put pressure on the bleeding wound with the young man's torn clothing. 

"You did." she used all her might so as her voice would not quiver. It didn't take a genius to find out what had occured. Yukaze had obviously seen her attempt to save Kurei and had made his own attempt to save her and the child. In the advent of which he had shielded the two of them, recieving this now gaping wound on his torso, but not before planting his sword on the other man's heart. 

With much effort, he raised his right hand and brushed his hand across the silver-haired maiden's cheek, smearing it accidentally with blood on his fingers. "Gomen nasai...I didn't mean that..." he mouthed out with much difficulty. His lips had become pale and his breathing became fast and uneven, showing evidences of the severe amount of blood he had lost. 

"Shhh...you mustn't talk, you're weak..." she said, fighting a losing battle with tears. Mizumi positioned herself to carry her fallen colleague when he resisted. 

"D-don't bother." he uttered weakly. "I know, it's...it's time for me to go..." 

"Don't say that!" she protested angrily. "We'll get this fixed...I'll take you to Rauresu, he's.." 

"Rauresu-san is dead." he stated, referring to the village healer. "Don't bother with a dying man, Mizumi-san. Go to the hills, save yourself. Get away from here." 

"I won't...I can't...leave you." she argued. A tear fell involuntarily from her cheek. "I...I will defend my family's name to the last breath I take." 

"Don't be silly." the other ninja said. "You must live...to...fight..another...day..." 

"Why don't you take your own advice then?" she challenged. "Live...and fight with me another day?" 

Yukaze closed his eyes and groaned from the pain of his injury. Yet, something inside of him felt a bit elated at her words. His weakening heart doing a tiny backflip. _Could it be?_ Could it be, by some miracle of Kami-sama, that his beloved ice maiden, even a little, had cared for him too? _What a silly notion to come by you at the moment of your death!_ he scolded himself. Had he been in a better state he would have asked her what she had meant. But now was not the time for romantic idylls. Not when his vision was beginning to fail him and his heartbeat was becoming faint even to his own ears. 

Perhaps, another day...should Kami-sama give them the chance, maybe he could ask her...if she liked him too...even a little. Maybe in another lifetime...another time, another place, he would ask. But now... 

"Yukaze...Yukaze-san..." he could hear her usually emotionless tone sound a bit panicky? Or was it? He couldn't really tell, he could barely hear it as his ears apparently have become deaf. 

"Kami-sama! You're not leaving me too? Yukaze-san! Don't you dare...oh but you wouldn't dare..." Mizumi was in near hysterics as she called his name out loud, angered and frustrated. 

But she knew that he could no longer hear her. 

A rustle of bushes diverted Mizumi's attention from her fallen colleague. She turned just in time to see two of Nobunaga's men jump her. In a blink of an eye she had drawn her sword and had torn their hearts open. Mizumi quickly got to her feet as more men appeared from out of nowhere. She moved like the lightning, ripping her enemies apart. She paused only but a second to wipe the tears that stung her vision. She fought gallantly, knocking her attackers down one by one. 

_If only onii-san could see me now..._she thought. She could almost feel Usui smiling down at her. 

_You've become quite a warrior, imoutosan. Oka-san and Oto-san would have been proud of you_, he would have said. 

But there was no one here to tell her that. No one to see her throw her mastered skills in bringing down their clan's enemy. No one to watch her fight in the name of the Hokage. 

Because they had all been taken away from her. Okaa-san. Oto-san. Onii-san. Oji-san. 

Kami-sama had taken her family away. 

And now...even Yukaze was gone. He had left her too. 

And though her head severely denied it, her heart spoke the contrary. Who was her brother's best friend anyway? Wasn't he just that? Someone who enjoyed pestering her, teasing her about her undomesticated nature? Someone who told her she would be better off left in the battlefield than in the kitchen? He was nothing more than an inconvenience she had to put up with. Only because he was onii-san's best friend. Nothing more. 

Then why was it, that when he died in her arms, she felt as though a part of her died as well? As though another one of her dear family had gone? 

Somehow she didn't want to hear the answer. 

But the fact that he, her dear brother's friend had gone, a sudden realization struck her. Hard. 

She was alone now...all alone in the world. Alone. It was one word but was worth a thousand. 

"You're a pretty one, girlie. Why don't you and I just get outta here and find a warm place to snuggle in?" remarked her adversary as their faces came but a few inches apart as their swords clashed. 

Mizumi spit in his face. "Not in your wildest dreams." she snarled as she kicked him away with a booted foot. She drove her sword into his abdomen before he could retaliate with a verbal retort. 

The silver-haired ninja pulled her sword to face the other oncoming soldiers. She was about to pounce when she tripped. The warrior she had just stabbed, with the last of his strength, had held on to her leg causing her to fall and her weapon to be thrown aside. 

Nobunaga's men wasted no time and attacked her. The fallen ninja tried to fight them off with her bare hands as her sword was out of reach. As one of her attackers poised to deliver a death blow to her abdomen, Mizumi caught the sword's blade in between her hands, using her strength to hold on. Oblivious to the blood that now flowed between her fingers as the sharpness of the blade penetrated them. 

"It's no use, woman. Accept your fate!" the soldier taunted. 

_What is my fate?_ she suddenly found herself asking. If she survived this attack, what was to become of her? She would retreat to the hills...and then what? She doubted Nobunaga and his men would waste time looking for a non-entity like her. She would live her days, probably, as a hermit or a wanderer. The last-remaining of the tragedy-fallen Hokage Ninja Clan. A life lived in solitude...anonimity...loneliness.... 

Was that her fate? 

It made no sense. No sense at all. 

What sense was there to live? If there was nothing...no one to live for? 

And at that moment she had chosen to gaze upon the stars that looked back at her on that dark, tragic night. Upon the ebony skies she could make out the figure of her onii-san...okaa-san...oto-san...her family...her dear, beloved family...and...Yukaze...his purple-hued eyes with that teasing sparkle...smiling shyly at her as he always did. She didn't know he had that kind of affection for her. She never knew. She never did give any meaning to the way he always seemed to blush when she caught him staring at her. Or to those moments when he'd open the door for her, or help her with the laundry. The way he'd cook her one of her favorite meals whenever she hanged out with Usui and him. Or when he'd go tongue-tied and clumsy everytime she challenged him to a duel. She thought he was only being so because her brother was his best friend. 

While in truth...it was because he was in love with her. 

Which was also why he gave his life to save her a few short moments ago. 

It was certainly the worst of times when she had to feel a warm sensation upon thinking of Yukaze's little displays of affection. Just a few inches away from certain death as she held on tightly to the blade aimed at her solar plexus. But she could not help it. Not that she had not felt it before. She had...a little. Moreso because she had denied it. Denied liking the way he looked at her, denied enjoying his awkwardness when dealing with her, denied loving his cooking...she had denied everything. 

Until now... 

On the brink of death and she had to think of it now...how funny. 

They said that when one is about to die, they get flashbacks of their entire life before their eyes. And as her grip on the hilt of the sword began to loosen, Mizumi suddenly had memories flooding upon her. Those days of happiness with her family, her friends, her fellow warriors...she had cherished them all. Days that could no longer be because, they whom she would share them with, have now gone to the afterlife. 

The image of her onii-san seemed to be beckoning out to her, reaching out his huge, warm hand. "Come...imouto-san. " his lips moved in invitation. 

Mizumi stifled a scream as she felt the sharp metal edge pierce through her body. Her hand had seemingly gone astray and reached out to the empty skies instead of blocking the instrument of her demise. There was a distant look in her eyes, the soldier had noted before stabbing her. As if she had changed her mind about this battle and had succumbed to her destiny of death. 

The silver-haired ninja fell limp like a rag doll before the soldier pulled out his weapon. He made certain of her lifelessness, as he'd seen what the girl had been capable of had she been alive. He left to see to it that there was not a soul left in the burning village. Nobunaga would be very pleased. 

From the skies a grotesque view could be made out, that of the burned remains of what was once a village of ninjas. The field was bathed in blood with bodies strewn haphazardly in a display of madness and violence. Amongst the corpses one would note that of a young maiden, of whom death had not robbed of her innate physical beauty lying beside that of a young man with dishevelled purple hair and whose blue-violet eyes seemed to be aglow despite his lifeless form. What was intriguing was that they were positioned strangely, curved against each other, in a Yin and Yang form. Complementing. 

_Something's wrong here.._.Mizumi through her clouding brain thought. _I feel as though...my purpose in life has not been...fulfilled somehow, that there's still something to say, something to do_. These thoughts seem to echo towards her brother, whose very soul now stood upon her feet, waiting to collect her. With the final fragments of her life, her head towards the dead young man whose body lay beside her. Right then and there, she realized what she wanted to do. 

"Yukaze-san..." her mind spoke. "I wish...we had been given a chance...I should have had a chance...to tell you..." 

But the light on Mizumi's candle had been extinguished. 

Four hundred years later, the spirit of that flame still burned. Brightly.   
******** 

_Anou...that was pretty long for a prologue, no? ^^;;; It's a whole story in itself! Gomen nasai...gomen nasai. i hope you still have the patience to read the next chapters, no? I'll *try* not to make it too long...promise!!! Hopefully you got the idea who the stars of this fic are to be in the four hundred years after? Let's see...the pretty, snotty, silver-haired maiden with an ensui and the wild-haired, purple-locked guy wielding the fuujin...hmmmm...I wonder who they are?___

_About the names...Mizumi is a derivative of mizuumi which means LAKE. Usui is rainwater (instead of going for snow, I went for the rainy season) and Yukaze means NIGHT BREEZE/NIGHT WIND.___

_This story is dedicated to the Tokiya-Fuuko fans who are wonderfully supportive of my website despite the fact that I am an avid Raiha-Fuuko supporter (which I still am, make no mistake about that), to the *wonderful* people at the Flame_of_Recca mailing list (of which I have been a member of for *nearly* two years), to ChibiRaiha-kun (my dear friend and ward) and to the real life Tokiya Mikagami of my life (Who doesn't know he is, unfortunately ^_~)...without whom this is not at all possible. You know who you are and I hope you're not reading this, he he he. This one is FOR YOU, and inspired by YOU, whether you like it or not. So whatever happens, it's YOUR fault! I hope to get to the next chapter sooner...he he he..see ya all!_   



	2. Til We Meet Again

HEAVEN AWAITS   
by Fuuko no miko   
Chapter 1 

_Author's Notes: Many thanks for the wonderful reviews on the prologue ^_^. I know it was a bit rushed, but I couldn't prolong it any longer. The length of the prologue that is. One of the reasons it got to that length is because Kurei had waltzed into the picture. That guy has so endeared himself to me, I just *can't* not include him in it. Especially since he'll be making appearances in the rest of the fic. Also, you'll be finding major inconsistencies between this and the manga (as if there aren't already!!!) and I also had to eliminate several characters from here too...but you won't find out who yet..... I did this to accomodate the ideas, so please be kind and not flame me for being incompatible with both the manga and the anime. Here goes..._   
******* 

"You called for me?" 

Kurei turned about in the swivel chair of his private quarters. The voice that greeted him sounded as icy and as indifferent as its bearer. The door was closed firmly. Kurei turned off the intercom that he used to give his personal assitant his orders. This was a conversation not to be heard in public. Not to be disclosed to anyone outside the circle of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. 

Mori Kurei did not bother to offer the newly arrived a seat. The man didn't like slouching about and was seemingly perpetually on his feet. He did, however offer him a newly opened pack of Marlboro lights to which the other man politely declined. 

"Abstinence?" Kurei asked, an amused smirk on his lips as he took a stick and lit it. 

"I'm meeting someone important." the other figure in the office replied. "He's allergic to the mere scent of nicotine." 

Kurei laughed before taking a whiff. His companion leaned casually against the door, one of his more subtle implications of impatience. 

"I called you here to ask for your opinion." and with that he took a remote control that opened panels on the wall which showed a TV monitor. He pushed a button which revealed on video the face of Yanagi Sakoshita. Kurei glanced to see his guest's reaction to the girl's haunting resemblance of his deceased sister. There was none. 

_Excellent_, he thought. _He's as deadpan as they come. Meguri was right._

"Her name is Sakoshita Yanagi." he explained. "Our people had tracked her down. She has this amazing ability to heal injuries, regardless of their nature." Kurei linked his fingers together, his eyes taking a more serious appearance as he directed them towards the other person in the room. "My dearly beloved father wants her." 

"You want me to get her?" came the stoic reply. 

"I've already had someone...errr...suitable for the job." Kurei said. "Unless you want it of course...but I've been told Mokouren has already been, uhurm...sent to take her." 

Kidnappings were not his specialty, Kurei knew. Not that it was what he wanted. The other man was a tad too special for those kinds of jobs. Besides, the less exposed to the world he was, the better. Kurei had other plans for this young man. His offer of kidnapping Yanagi was merely to see the other one's degree of interest in a girl who had an incredible facial similarity to his dead sister. 

Apparently there was none, if he was to judge it by reactions and facial expressions. 

Either that, or Tokiya Mikagami was such a consummate actor. 

"Mokouren has this particular affinity for torturing women." Mikagami spoke at last, echoing his thoughts. "Unless you want a physically and mentally damaged healer delivered to your father, I suggest you send some more stable-minded person to collect the goods. Or at least have him or her accompany Mokouren." 

"And that would be?" Kurei asked. "Any suggestions?" 

"Koganei Kaoru." Tokiya recommended. "That kid from the junior ranks. He's smart for his age. I think he can handle Mokouren just in case the latter gets all excited and wants to slice your healer to doggy bites. Miki freaks out with just the thought of going with Mokouren...and having Jishou or Gashakura do it would arouse too much suspicion." 

Kurei nodded in agreement. He pushed the button on a separate, concealed intercom and told his secretary Mibu to have Kaoru Koganei ready. He smiled satisfactorily and leaned against his swivel chair. Tokiya Mikagami was sharp. Kurei liked that. Which was why he valued the latter's opinion above all the other men in the Jyushinshuu. 

"You know that wasn't the only reason I asked you to come up here?" Kurei asked. 

"I know." Tokiya said. "I don't have an answer for you now. I'll let you know when I do." 

"Very well. I'm not rushing you." the scarred one said. He paused before continuing. "Meguri-san is not getting any younger, however. The earlier I find a suitable one to take his place the better." 

"I'm flattered you should think of me worthy to take his place, Kurei-san." Tokiya stretched up to his full height. "But the time, I believe, is not yet right. My answer will be known to you in due time." and with that he turned his back and opened the door, signalling an end to this conversation. "Should you need me again, I'll be in my quarters for the next hour." 

"Lovely braid." Kurei commented as Mikagami turned. "Aki-san's work I assume?" 

"You know Aki-san. She's very persistent." the other one commented drily. Tokiya hated having to bind his long, silvery mane in anything other than the occasional ponytail. And he did that only when he practiced his sword techniques. 

"She's in love with you, you know." 

Tokiya merely shrugged. "I'm not encouraging her to any degree, if that's what your worried about." 

Kurei laughed. "Oh I'm not worried about it at all. Not at all." He was telling the truth. If there was one thing he knew Tokiya Mikagami was capable of, it was keeping at bay the numerous females vying for his attention. 

The door had been long closed before Kurei stood up from his position. It was a good thing Tokiya did not have any unusual reactions to the Sakoshita girl. He had a nagging doubt in his mind that his favorite assassin might not like having bound and gagged a girl who looked like his sister. He even entertained thoughts of Tokiya trying to save the kidnapped healer. But if he was to judge by Tokiya's reaction to her, or the lack of it, the initial idea of his seemed ludicrous. The ensui master didn't look like he gave a damn. 

Perfect. 

He would have to give Meguri Kyoza more credit than the old man was due. He had acquired for the Jyushinshuu the perfect assassin. Of course half the credit would have to go to himself as well. Mori Kouran had doubts taking under his wing the then 14-year old Tokiya who had been skinny as a bamboo pole when Meguri-san first brought him. But Kurei was able to convince his father otherwise. The boy showed much promise with his sword skills. 

Besides, Kurei still owed Tokiya's ancestors a favor. He might have been only 5 years old then, but he knew the face of Mizumi Mikagami well. He owed her this second chance of living...and carrying out his vendetta. One look at Tokiya and his ensui was enough to convince him of the boy's bloodline. And if Tokiya was half as good as his lovely Hokage ancestor, he had it made in the Jyushinshuu. 

Four years later, Tokiya had proven his worth. And much more. 

He had a pokerface, a heart of stone and a manner that made an icestorm pale in comparison. He carried orders without question and without failure. 

Meguri Kyoza just found himself the ultimate replacement. 

Tokiya entered his quarters quietly. A glance at the wall clock told him he had at least an hour before meeting his assigned target. A high-ranking government official who had been dealing with Kurei-san's father for the past 5 years who suddenly wanted out and had intended to squeal to the government of their organization's activities. Needless to say Mori Kouran wanted the man silenced. Quickly. Cleanly. Quietly. It was his specialty. 

He took off the form-fitting black shirt that was his usual attire, as was his black jeans. He chose from his wardrobe an immaculate white suit, laundered and pressed to perfection. Innocent-looking. Pure in intention. So unlike his purpose. Hopefully he doesn't get too much blood on it. Akiko, his laundrywoman, would have a fit. He decided to leave his hair in the elaborate braid Aki-san had put it in. No sense breaking the poor girl's heart. Besides, it made him look more human. 

More human. What a strange word. It didn't suit him at all. 

He knew he stopped being human the day they took his nee-chan away. 

He opened his favored scent of expensive musk and treated his upper body to the intoxicating fragrance. According to Kirin-san the old geezer, his target, liked his young men smelling like musk. 

Damn but he hated closet queens. 

He hoped he could extinguish the life out of his dear victim before the latter could lay his dirty hands on him. Sometimes he felt the hour-long soaks in the bathtub he takes after his assignments didn't get the nauseating smell of his victims off his body. Not that any of them ever got more than a hand on his shoulders. He never let them live past that. But the thought was worse than the act itself. 

Disgusting. 

In the back of his mind was a thought he tried to push aside but kept nagging at him anyway. 

**_She looks so much like nee-chan._**

He wondered if the similarity ended there. 

******* 

She was on the railing by the waterfront, a stone's throw from her house. Her legs dangling and swaying as she sat there. The clear waters beneath running smoothly and silently. The wind toyed around with her already dishevelled purple locks. The rays of the setting sun casting their orange-pink glow on her steady form as her bluish-purple eyes watched the massive ball of fire takes its' rest for the day. 

There were times she still could not believe it. 

That baka no baka Recca was now someone else's ninja. 

Someone else's servant. 

And that someone was Yanagi. 

Make no mistake however, that she resented the girl. Despite the initial dislike she had for Sakoshita Yanagi, that feeling had soon been overcome by a more amicable one. Yanagi was a very likeable person. She was sweet and gentle and pretty. She belonged to a prominent family and though not a genius, was a member of the sophomore's upper class. 

In short, she was everything Fuuko wasn't. 

Which was why, she concluded, Recca had wanted to be Yanagi's ninja. The other girl was a prime example of what a girl should be. Not like her. Never like her. 

As her dear mother would often remind her. 

She laughed aloud, thinking what she would have been like if put in Yanagi's shoes. She'd probably have waist-length, neatly coiffeured hair instead of her aberrant uneven mop. Then she'd be wearing pink ribbons and frilly peach dresses replacing her usual fare of headband and jeans. She'd probably giggle while covering her lipstick-smeared mouth instead of tossing her head in near-convulsive laughter. Then spend her afternoons watching Card Captor Sakura & Wedding Peach rather than her favored Yu Yu Hakusho & DragonBall Z. 

The picture that formed in her mind made her roar out like a lunatic, drawing the attention of more than a handful of passers-by. 

Fuuko clamped her mouth shut and lowered her head when the stares became all too many. A crimson tide flooded her cheeks self-consciously. Her eyes turned towards the crystalline stream that flowed quietly several feet below her. 

A reflection. 

Vivid blue eyes. The color of a fathomless sky. Through the blue mirror that the water beneath had created, those eyes collided with a stony purple gaze. Collided and held on for little more than a breath. 

**_Matte..._**

He was clothed in spotlessly clean white. A business suit. His hair gray...no silver, bound in a skillfully done braid. His face angelic, yet was as expresionless as a stone cherub atop a pristine Christian chapel. A pair of silver-rimmed spectacles could not shield the frosty glare that he threw from behind them. He stood motionless on the opposite side of the water banks. 

She sat there, gaping, though obviously not knowing she was. Her unruly locks getting twisted by the playful afternoon breeze. Her attire bespoke her status as a student in one of the local high schools. Her pair of blue-violet eyes had a playful glitter in them. As though she had found something entirely amusing that caused her to express it out loudly thereby drawing everyone's attention. 

Somewhere the powerful clap of thunder was heard. 

Fuuko looked up and saw an advancing armada of dark clouds coming their way. 

**_Arashi. Storm._**

**Strange. I could swear the sky had been sober a minute ago**_, _she said to herself. 

Then her eyes returned to look at he who had caused her a momentary distraction. 

He was gone. 

A sharp pelt of raindrop made itself known on her cheek before she could do anything further. She hopped off from her perch as more of them began to fall mercilessly and rattle the initially calm waters below her. She ran towards the opposite direction, heading for her house. She was halfway there when she casually took a glance over her shoulder to see if he had gone far. 

Apparently he had vanished in thin air, as Fuuko could make out none of the man in the white suit. 

Perhaps he was nothing more than an illusion? 

Or maybe he was her guardian angel...if those things truly existed. Maybe he had come down from the heavens to tell her to get over that blithering idiot Recca and get on with her life. 

He was a very good-looking angel, though, she smiled inwardly as she rapped on the door of her home. She wouldn't have minded if he would make more appearances out of the blue. At least she could hold on to a man's attention for something other than to pick a fight with. 

Never mind that he was a figment of her playful mind, or that he was something more than ethereal. 

_Now where did that thought come from?_ she asked herself. 

It was totally out of character for her. To be thinking of a male as anything other than a fly to be swatted or a nuisance to be rid of. And yet... 

It was a good thing he had left before the downpour started, Tokiya thought, as he sat comfortably at the backseat of the sleek limousine that picked him up, otherwise he'd be soaking in the vile rainwater by now. He was nursing a glass of wine in his hand, savoring its flavor as its warmth trickled down his throat. It was a product of one of the best French vineyards in the world. Only the best for the men of the Jyushinshuu. Kurei never did like settling for anything less. Which is why he expected the same from them. 

Tokiya leaned back and closed his eyes. At times like this, after a kill, he ordinarily distracted himself with a trip to the Uruha's private sanctuary, an underground bar just at the outskirts of Tokyo which hosted everything that a quirky assassin would ask for. He often spent a couple of hours there, soaking in the hot springs and delving in whatever decent book he could get his hands on. In his youth, Kurei would send a private tutor there to give him the advantages of modern education sans the inconvenience of having to go up to public school. These days, he took on to studying on his own. 

"Mikagami-sama, you wish to go to the Tendou?" his chauffer inquired, referring to the assassin playgrounds. 

"Not today, Seki-san." he replied politely. "Take me home." he said, indicating the Uruha mansion. He replaced the empty wine glass on the drink holder and leaned back. His vision focused on the rainstorm bathing his outer surroundings while his mind was split into thinking of two very nouveau ideas. 

Neither of which Kurei would be very agreeable upon, had he known them. 

*******   
He had bathed and changed into a black tank top and matching jeans when he ran into Kaoru Koganei at the mansion hallway. The younger man seemed to have paled a bit upon bumping into him. 

"Gomen nasai, Mikagami-san." he all but blurted out as he quickly picked up the packet he had dropped on their collision. 

An amused grin raised the corner of the older man's lips. "It's alright Koganei." he assured. 

Kaoru wasn't afraid as much as he was distrustful of this man. He saw little of Kurei-nii-chan's right hand man and knew just about as much as the usual bodyguards do. Nothing. Save for the fact that Kurei kept the other man close at bay and let no one, save for a chosen few, hold anything but a casual conversation with him. Not that Mikagami-san had let on much either. He shut up like a clam and always kept to himself. His facial expression varied little and the best that could have been said of his attitude for the rest of the Uruha was tolerant. 

Kaoru didn't like him one bit. 

The only thing he did, however, hold for him was a high level of respect. He had, on more than one occassion, seen the way Mikagami-san fought. The man was a master at handling his personal madogu, the ensui. He was a sly, calculating warrior that went straight for the kill. No frills, no flamboyant acts, no prolonged speeches on "What I'm going to put you through before I kill you." And if any of Mikagami's partners had any hesitation on doing what he was supposed to, the former finished it off. 

The man was a perfect executioner. 

Almost too perfect, in fact, that Kaoru knew the man had to have flaws somewhere. 

And he was more than curious to find them out. 

"Koganei." 

Kaoru halted in his tracks, turning his head slowly in response to that call to his name. He hoped Mikagami-san did not notice the packet of food he was carrying for the pretty girl he had captured. "Yes Mikagami-san?" 

"Your prisoner. Where is she?" he asked. 

The boy smiled, a sheepish expression registering on his face. Uncharacteristically, he scratched his head. "What prisoner are you talking about? I was on my way to play Counter Strike." 

"Sakoshita Yanagi." Tokiya said. "No use in denying such. It was I who recommended you to Kurei-san for the job." 

He didn't want to tell him, as he knew not of the other man's purposes. But he knew Mikagami would find out sooner or later anyway. "Last room at the East wing." Kaoru answered. 

"Arigatou." was the word thrown back at him. And before Kaoru had gone far, he heard the ensui master utter another sentence. "No need to worry, Koganei. I won't tell Kurei-san you're bringing her food." he chuckled afterwards. 

It was the first time he had heard the man laugh in amusement and he didn't quite like it. Perhaps he should warn Yanagi-nee-chan. Or stay behind to protect her. Kaoru began to walk faster. 

*******   
"Yanagi's been kidnapped?" Fuuko exclaimed in response to Recca's declaration. 

Recca nodded as he started putting fire powder in a bag. "And Tatesako-sensei too." 

"What would they want from Yanagi-chan? Money?" Domon interjected. "But isn't that guy Mori Kouran rich?" 

"Baaakaaa!" Recca screamed at his two friends who both fell over. "This isn't an ordinary kidnapping! It's my hime's life at stake!" 

"Okay...okay...we get the picture." Fuuko sweatdropped. She eyed Recca's ninja outfit disapprovingly. "I'd be willing to help you...but next time, can't you try for a more subtle attire? You look ridiculous..." she rolled her eyes heavenward. 

"Ahhh...shut up." Recca sneered. 

"The question now is...errr...do you know where to find them?" Domon brought up. 

The two childhood friends appeared dumbstruck. 

*******   
He made sure there was no one in the corridor before he entered the enclosure that was on the East wing. 

"Kaoru?" came the question. Yanagi turned about, gasping as she made out a totally different figure in the scant light of her prison. She held her tongue as the tall man approached slowly. He took careful, long strides as his eyes focused on her face. She didn't like the way he seemed to be visually appraising her. The look in their crystalline depths appeared to have a mixture of amazement and doubt. 

She visibly flinched when he reached out to touch her, closing her eyes as she did. She was relieved when he merely took a lock of her hair, examining it curiously. 

"A bit too long, but, nonetheless..." he said. 

She opened her eyes and took a good look at he who was scrutinizing her like a piece of meat on the rack. He was a beautiful man, too beautiful, in fact, she almost mistook him as a female. She was wise enough not to comment on it, as she knew he would react violently as any male would at the mention of his feminine appearance. 

"Nee-chan..." she heard him whisper. "You look so much like her..." 

A sound coming from his beeper seemingly shook him out of his reverie, and his expression had turned into a more serious one as he read the message on it. 

"Another time, Sakoshita-san." he remarked as he disappeared in the darkness as suddenly as he had appeared. Yanagi breathed a sigh of relief. For a minute there, she thought he was going to do her harm. 

*******   
Kurei was watching amusedly on the giant screen by the time he got to the control room. Had he not known it was a viewing area for mansion intruders, he'd think the Uruha's head honcho was watching an action flick. It sure had seemed that way as he glimpsed a bit of a fight scene on the screen. 

"You should have seen it earlier, Mikagami-san." one of Kurei's men excitedly told the ensui master as he came to stand beside the master of the blue flame. "Those kids outwitted Maria!" 

"Unfortunately the same couldn't be said of you." he remarked snidely, causing the other man to keep quiet. "You'd never outsmart a brainless statue in an IQ game." He often wondered how idiots like these ever got employment in an organization like the Uruha. Will wonders never cease? 

Tokiya then looked at the monitor, only to be struck by lightning it seems, for the second time in the span of a day. 

"Oi, Fuuko! Come on! What the hell are you looking at?" Recca stood beside his childhood friend as she stopped to stare on the upper part of the wall on which, unbeknownst to her, perched a hidden camera. 

_That girl._

**Someone is watching me.**

_At the waterfront_. 

**Who are you?**

_Those eyes._

**My guardian angel, are you watching me from above?**

_You seem familiar, and yet...I know I've never seen you until today._

**Are you going to take care of me?******

Earlier that afternoon as he rode back to the Uruha mansion, Tokiya had two thoughts that he knew Kurei would disapprove of had they been made known to him. 

One was the fact that their new prisoner had looked too much like his nee-chan. He had to see her to believe it, and he had. Their likeness was almost unconceivable, but true. 

This was the other. 

She looked at the hidden camera, although it was quite obvious she didn't know it was there. It was as though she was staring directly at him...and he at her. The screen between them seemingly did not exist. 

_You...have we not met before?_

**I feel your eyes on me, you must be out there somewhere?**

_You've...been on my mind, such a bother! Why so?_

**Will you protect me? I wouldn't mind...even if I'm used to protecting myself.**

"What are you standing around there for?" Recca doubled back to pull her away. "Let's go!" 

Tokiya would have thanked the silly-looking monkey in the ninja outfit for pulling the girl away. For some odd reason, he couldn't seem to get away from that look she was giving him. 

It was disturbing. 

He turned away and walked from the room before Kurei had a chance to see that look in his eyes. 

A resolution formed in the ensui master's head as he strode through the dark, winding corridors of the Uruha mansion. 

He was going to find out who she was.   
--------------------- 

Author's Notes: 

Okay! That was part one. What do you think? ^_^;;; (Massive sweatdrop). As I've said before, this is going to go waaay deviated from the manga and the anime as well. So please don't ask me what happened before this particular time with the Hokage, like who Recca battled in the Hall of Mirrors and all. If I inject that in the storyline I could end up with an entirely different manga series of my own ^^. Anyway, in case you didn't quite get it, the some parts interjected both Fuuko & Tokiya's thoughts. Fuuko's is the one in **bold** while Tokiya's is the one _italicized_. And if its **_bold and italicized_**, it goes for both of them. A final word to Mikagami-lovers...sorry I had to make him a nicotine-inhaling, black-bedecked, stonefaced homophobe in a braid. I did warn you I had to twist a couple of facts to accomodate this fic. Besides, this is Tokiya Mikagami of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. He's going to be, in some ways, WAAAY OOC. Okay? On to the next chapter y'all....that is, if you still want to read, heee ^^;;; 


	3. Driven by You

HEAVEN AWAITS   
Chapter 2   
Driven by You   
by Fuuko no Miko 

_Author's notes:_   
_Again, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed by the first two parts of this fic. Your responses are much appreciated ^_^. Some people were asking about Raiha. Uhum??? I've been bad and killed Raiha in Hearts At Play *_*...wonder what I'll do to him next?_

*******   
The weight of the solid stone wall pressed heavily on their backs. Fuuko was sweating profusely, as were her two other companions. Domon was strong, but even the big guy had his limits. Anytime now the thick layer of cemented rock was going to crush their skulls. She didn't think this would be the end of her short adolescent life. To be smashed under the bearing weight of solid rock. Unladylike as she was, she ddin't think she deserved even that gruesome a death. 

"I...can't hold on...much longer..." Domon spoke through gritted teeth. 

"Me too. It's too heavy..." said Recca. 

"I can't take it...anymore..." she agreed. 

Fuuko felt her arms give way and in a split second she expected the structure to come falling upon their heads. Surprisingly, she felt none of this as she saw something move lightning-quick towards them. She couldn't tell what it was or where it came from, but it flew, slashing several strokes in the air above them. In the blink of an eye the abominable concrete upon them disintegrated into a thousand pieces. 

Fuuko coughed as she covered her nose and mouth to shield from all the smoke the crumbling of the wall produced. It took a while before everything cleared, and when the dust settled, she made out a tall figure in their midst. Lean and lithe, sporting locks whose silky length belied the bearer's actual gender, with a bluegreen stare that met her own, a hint of amusement glinting in them. A big smile found its way to her lips. She'd recognize those eyes anywhere. 

"Raiha-kun!!!!" 

Domon & Recca looked like beached trouts with their mouths agape as Fuuko hurried towards the approaching figure. She welcomed him with open arms, trapping him in a bearhug that nearly choked the life out of him. 

An emotion relatively alien to him suddenly grasped the man before the screen monitor. And though he knew it was a pang of jealousy that seized him at the sight he had just beheld, he quickly dismissed the possibility. From his comfortable slouch, Tokiya straightened and narrowed his eyes at the screen as if trying to get a better look at the newcomer. 

_A boyfriend?_

While he knew next to nothing about the girl on the video screen, a boyfriend was one of the things farthest from his mind when he first encountered her. Not that she wasn't attractive enough to have one. It was just...errr...rather unlikely. He had more than the usual encounter of females who were attached. She didn't look like one of them. 

Raiha was nearly purple and cyanotic from the tight hug Fuuko had given him. He pried her strong arms around him and let her down from hanging about his neck. 

"I had an inkling you'd be glad to see me." he laughed while she looked all starry-eyed at him. "But I didn't expect that enthusiastic a welcome." 

"Glad!?" Fuuko nearly screamed. "I am deliriously overjoyed to see you!" 

Fuuko hooked an arm to his and pulled him towards her two friends whose eyes were near-dropping from staring at her. The question mark on both their heads almost visible with the kind of look they were giving her. 

"Recca, Domon, meet Raiha-kun. Raiha-kun, these are my friends, Hanabishi Recca & Ishijima Domon. You know Recca don't you? From next door? Shigeo-san's obnoxious little brat that I used to tell you about." 

"I resent that." Recca retaliated before giving Raiha a vigorous handshake and a strong pat on the back. "Oi, thanks for saving us! Lotta help these two were... Itaaaaiii!" he exclaimed when Fuuko whacked him on the head. 

Raiha extended a hand to Domon when the latter suddenly broke down in tears, sobbing violently. "It....it..can't be! My...my *snort* beloved Fuuko-chan...*sniff* it...it...it's not possible...how..." he broke off in midsentence, suddenly grabbing Raiha by the collar of his shirt and jerking him up 12 inches off the ground. "I challenge you to a duel, one on one for the love of my Fuuko-chan! And if you're half a man you'll..." 

Domon was unable to finish his sentence as Fuuko gave him a resounding kick that sent him yelping. "Baaakaa!!!" she bellowed. "Get your gorilla hands off my onii-san!" 

Onii-san? 

Several pairs of eyes darted towards Fuuko, then to Raiha and back to the fuujin-wielder who was livid with rage. Those eyes took in the purple hair, the same expressive eyes, the fine-boned facial features and strong athletic build. Their resemblance was unmistakable. 

The figure behind the screen smiled to himself. So her savior was actually her brother. Somehow he felt a little relieved. 

"You're her older brother?" was the query thrown upon Raiha. 

"Last time I looked." he replied sheepishly. 

Recca was waving a forefinger at him. "I've known Fuuko for years...how come I've never seen you?" 

"A long complicated story." he smiled and winked conspiratorily at Fuuko. "I suggest we save your hime first before we get into the history of my existence?" 

"You're right!" Recca realized. "Let's go save hime!" 

"You haven't really forgotten about me have you?" 

They looked back to see Kaoru Koganei who had been the one to push the button on the trap. Before anyone else could move, the master of the Kougan Anki leaped and attacked. 

Raiha swiftly deflected the blow. "Go ahead, Recca, Fuuko, Domon. I'll take care of things here." he paused to give Fuuko a thumbs up sign. "Go get 'em." 

Kaoru seized the opportunity and attacked the older man with his madogu again which the latter effectively blocked. 

"Wow! You blocked it from a dead angle!" he exclaimed. The kougan-anki wielder was impressed. "It's the first time anyone saw my attack!" 

"You aint seen nothing yet." Raiha smiled before blocking another swift move by Kaoru. 

The battle had just commenced. 

Tokiya had gathered from the videotape the relationship of this girl who had intrigued him so, with the young man who had rescued her from the clutches of certain death. Oniisan. Older brother. He listened attentively to what she related to that sea-monkey in the dumb-looking ninja gear. 

"My parents parted ways when we were small. That was just before we moved next door to you so you wouldn't have remembered. There was a custody battle and in the end they settled for my mom having me and my dad taking my Oniisan. They moved to Osaka and I haven't seen him since. We used to write each other though, so he knew about you. But it stopped after a few years. My onii-san and I were very close. I'd have rcognized him if he dyed his hair red and had a sex change." 

"Your nii-san's very good." Recca praised. "How come you never got his talents in battle?" 

Fuuko replied with a strong wallop, producing a huge lump on the flamecaster's head. They bickered for another five minutes before arriving at the door that led the way to where Yanagi was. 

The knocking on the door from behind him caused Tokiya to switch off the monitor. He deftly removed the videotape and hid it inside the pocket of his jacket. "Come on in." 

"Tokiya-kun?" 

He disliked being called his first name, but he didn't show it when he faced the newly arrived. "Yes Aki-san?" 

"You've been up all night." the fair-haired girl noted. "You need your rest. Here I brought you some sakura tea and maki. You didn't show up for dinner." She placed the tray on the table next to his recliner."It's not a very healthy practice you know." 

Tokiya flashed her a smile that he frequently used to disarm any persistent female that came on to him. "Arigatou." he politely thanked. "Delicious as always, Aki-san." he said after popping one of the rolls in his mouth. He glanced casually over the wallclock in his quarters. "Well what do you know? It's 1 AM." he pretended to yawn and outstretched his arms. "I'll just finish this up before I sleep. I work early tomorrow." 

She didn't miss the note of finality in his voice. She said her goodnights before exiting his quarters. Just as she closed the door behind her, Aki let out a curse, directing the sharp words to the ensui master. She was tempted to slam the door on his face when he walked her to the door but thought otherwise. 

He is so dense, she thought.The guy was absolutely clueless! Here she was, throwing herself at his feet and he wouldn't give her the time of day. 

Neon had warned her of falling too hard, but she couldn't seem to heed her older sister. Not that the former was a prime example of what she was preaching. Aki and every other person in the Uruha knew of Neon's unrequited love for their master, Kurei-sama. Yet, she could not help NOT falling in love with Tokiya. He was everything she had ever wanted. The looks. The brains. The talent. And she knew she wasn't the only one who admired the ensui master. She knew of at least half a dozen other females vying for his undivided attention. 

None of which he ever showed the slightest interest in. 

For a time she had wondered if Tokiya was gay. But he never showed interest in the similar gender either. Aki found out later on that he was a homophobe. The last time another man made a pass at him, he broke the latter's arm in two. 

Lately however, Aki noted something different with Tokiya Mikagami in the past few nights. He was often ensconced in a certain activity. Something that had to do with the last couple of teenagers Kurei-sama had encountered. Some punks who had the guile to invade the Uruha mansion three days before. She caught Tokiya staring intently at the screen Kurei-sama was viewing. While he, being Kurei's right-hand man and all, was supposed to be well-involved in the Uruha's activities, there was something strange about the way he took to heart these new adversaries. She couldn't quite point it out, having difficulty reading what thoughts were. But she knew it was different. Very different. She had known him for years but she's never seen him look at their new enemies the way he looked at the others. She couldn't put her finger on it. 

Aki had a glimpse of the tapes as well. There were only two females in the so-called elemental warriors. One was a purple-haired tomboy who looked more masculine than Tokiya himself. The other wasn't a warrior even. She was Kurei's prisoner. The healer Mori-sama had wanted so badly for his personal disposal. Aki remembered her. She was called Yanagi and much as she hated to admit it, the girl was exceptionally pretty with those gentle brown eyes and long, soft, tresses. 

Perhaps he was attracted to Yanagi? 

Aki paused by a mirror on the hallway and ran her fingers through her short, well-combed hair. She wondered if Tokiya would notice her if she grew her hair long and dyed it brown. 

Rats! If only she knew what he wanted in a girl. 

Maybe she should borrow Kirin's madougu. 

******* 

He had caught her attention the minute she set foot on the park and noted his tall form on the stone bench. 

Fuuko tried not to look at his direction, lest she recieve a myriad of teasing from her older brother who accompanied her. But she couldn't seem to help herself. Dressed in a flannel shirt and well-worn denim with a baseball cap on his head, he appeared to be just another teenager spending his spare time in the park. It wasn't that which beckoned him to her. It was the way he sat, straight but relaxed, his head buried preoccupied in what looked like a work of art. She had a quick glimpse of his face when he looked up and had noted a few erratic strands of hair peeping out from his Yankees cap. 

His hair was silver. 

And his face, although partially concealed was what can only be described as breathtakingly beautiful. 

He looked so much like.... 

The angel. 

Her angel. Her beautiful guardian angel who made himself known to her little more than a month ago, by the waterfront. On the clear, flowing water. He whose thoughts of which made her suddenly wish she was as unreal as he was so she could meet him somehow. 

Of course he was probably just a figment of her playful mind. A making of her unacceptable thoughts. A creation of that part of her which she refused to let surface because it would render her vulnerable. Girlish. Feminine. Her angel was merely a by-product of her unconscious being. 

This man was real. 

The momentary distraction that this caused did not escape Raiha's eagle eye. He may have only got to know the girl his sister had become this past month that they had gotten reacquainted, after rescuing her at Mori Kurei's mansion. But he knew females well enough to read the attraction in their eyes. His vision focused on the young man on the bench who had caught his sister's attention. There was something a bit unsettling about him, but he couldn't really tell. What he knew was that he had somehow caused that flicker of admiration in his imouto-san's bluish-violet eyes. 

He wasn't her big brother for nothing. 

"Oi, Fuuko! Try and catch this one." he called, as he kicked the soccer ball they had brought along to play with. 

It was a bit too late when she heard him. The soccer ball whizzed past her head. 

"Shi-ne...." 

Tokiya stretched his arms and flexed his fingers. He had been nearly motionless for the past hour as he concentrated on the image on his sketchpad. He was usually such when he was buried in one of his favorite activities. He had discovered his talent with the pencil over a year back and had been devoted to it ever since. While he knew he wasn't good enough to rival da Vinci or Michaelangelo, he considered his work decent. It was something to do with his fingers when they weren't holding the ensui. 

He raised the sketch to eye level, sorting out the little details. Was the hair of a correct length? Were the eyes too big? Or the mouth too quirked up? He had watched the video so many times that the tape had gone thin from being run on the VCR and still he couldn't get her face right. Maybe if he saw her one more time... 

Thwack! 

The next thing he knew, the sketchpad had flown from his hand and had less-than-gloriously landed on a puddle beside him. A mud-covered soccer ball nestled beside it. 

"Oh damn..." 

"Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" 

He looked up. 

She proceeded to mutter a string of apologies to him. None of which came out comprehendable. 

In the background, Raiha was smiling to himself. If he could, he'd have given himself a pat on the back. **Good aim, Master Bruce...Alfred would've said.**

He couldn't make out a word she said through her tied tongue. But a small smile began to form on Tokiya's lips as he bent to pick up his ruined property. It seemed like his lucky day. 

"Anou...I'm sorry about what happened." Fuuko spoke at last after groping for words. She immediately pulled out a handkerchief and tried to wipe the mud off the sketchpad, unknowing that beneath the layer of wet dirt was a portrait of her own face. 

"It's nothing really." Tokiya said. He held her hand to stop her. 

His touch sent an unusual current up her arm. 

And a warm rush up her cheeks. 

Taken aback by this totally unfamiliar reaction, Fuuko quickly pulled her hand away. "I'm sorry about your pad...mister..." 

"Tokiya." he said, surprising himself. "Call me Tokiya." 

"Tokiya-san. My oniisan and I were playing soccer and I missed catching the ball." she reasoned. "I'll replace your sketchpad...though I can't say the same for whatever you're drawing." 

He replied with a sideway smile that sent a dozen onlookers swooning. He ripped the page with her face on it and tore it to shreds. "No harm done." he said nonchalantly. "It wasn't of consequence. I can always draw another one." 

_And with a better model in front of me too_, he added in his mind. 

For a number of seconds they found no words to say to each other. Fuuko looked up at him, irritated at herself for not being able to control the red flush on her cheeks nor the fact that she enjoyed looking at his face. 

**He can't possibly be my angel...**she thought. **My angel had long silvery hair and blue eyes. He has short hair and his eyes are brown.**

Tokiya wondered if she saw through his brown contact lenses and the hair he had tucked inside his cap. 

So what if they don't look exactly alike? He was beautiful nonetheless. Bishounen to the very letter. And he took her breath away. 

**Duh...was that me talking?**

The thought brought another rise of color on Fuuko's face. In an effort to regain her composure, she dug into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a number of bills. 

"Would this be enough to cover for the damages?" she said, handing them to Tokiya. 

He shook his head. "I have a better idea." 

"Go, Fuuko." Raiha laughed as he watched from afar. He smiled satisfactorily at the product of his interference. Perhaps he should try playing Cupid more often? 

Fuuko had never felt more awkward in her entire life than at that particular moment, as she sat casually upon a huge rock, her head tilted slightly and her chin resting on her ball of her hand. It was more the circumstance than the posture that actually bothered her. Her position was comfortable. Her insides were not. Her stomach was in knots and her heart was beating in a tribal dance, erratically so. Its rhythm going into overdrive particularly when he looked up from his sketch pad and met her eyes with his own brown ones. 

She thought herself silly for feeling this way. She's never had before. Probably because no one has ever asked to draw her before. Ever. It was usually Yanagi who got the request. It was also the first time any member of the male species ever gave her attention for anything other than a fight. Then again there was Domon. But that was Domon, a friend before anything else. Besides, this one seemed different. For one thing, he was major bishounen. And as far as she can recall, no bishounen ever took even the slightest interest in her. Not even for a challenge. 

He intrigued her. There was an icy exterior about him, yet there seems to be some warmth hidden underneath, waiting to be chipped off. To be freed from the chasm of coldness he seemed to be in. 

Man that sounded deep. So unlike her. She wondered if she got it from hanging around her brother too much. Ever since he made that impromptu appearance in Kurei's mansion a month back, the two of them were inseperable. She had longed for her older sibling and had not let him out of her sight since then. Domon & Recca played less than second fiddle to him. In her eyes, nobody measured to her oniisan. 

The subject of her recent thoughts was far and way making himself scarce and somehow she thought he was behind the current scenario. Her sight had wandered off occasionally to find him making do with Ganko's limited skills with the soccer ball. And if she was not mistaken, he had once or twice tried to drive Domon at least 10 meters from where she was. 

She returned her point of vision to the young man in front of her. 

Was it his physical appearance? That he looked uncommonly good-looking that made her want to go on staring to the point of rudeness? Or was it his still solemnity that drew her to him? That made her sit here still as a rock to pose for him as he skillfully put to paper that which was before his eyes? 

There was something about him, something odd. Something....familiar...she couldn't point out exactly, but then... 

**Shi-ne**. She met him barely 20 minutes and her mind had gone off tangent. Waaaay off-tangent. 

Tokiya smiled behind the fine white sheet of his sketchpad. The subject of his illustration sat unmoving, but she was mentally fidgeting. Kyoza-sensei had taught him well in the art of reading body language, or the lack of it. Can't say he didn't learn well. He could almost read minds, which came in very useful in his line of work. He didn't know what caused her to be uncomfortable. He merely assumed that she'd never done this before. 

What manner of man, he thought, would not want to have her figure laid out immortally on canvas? True, she was no classical beauty like his nee-chan or a fair number of women he knew. But neither was the Mona Lisa, and that particular woman drew heads left and right. The girl before him was just that. Attractive she was, in an unconventional way. Her eyes in particular were something to behold. The mixture of mauve and azure hues in their depths had a hint of innocence in them. And when the sun struck them with its colorful rays, humor danced in their pools, with several elements of simplicity, longing and concealed pain. 

Pain? Over what, he wondered. 

He wasn't immune to her physical assets either as he put bent lines on his drawing. She was gifted with curves, in all the right places, he might add. Beneath the simple white tanktop and oversized shorts he could tell that Kami-sama had blessed this girl with a figure that would send her to cursing for the attention it would draw. Particularly if she would dress less than what would be considered acceptable by the public eye. 

"Uhurm." he said a little too loudly to exorcise the unwelcome thoughts that began invading his head. He wasn't a pervert by nature. 

**_So what is it about you that lures me? Attracts me? That makes me want to stop and stare and entertain thoughts so alien to me?_****__**

**_What?_****__**

**_I don't recall feeling this way about anyone...or anything...not as far as I can remember anyway._****__**

**_It's just so strange..._**

In the background, a number of wanton sighs could be heard, directed at the ensui master, accompanied by fervent wishes of being in Fuuko's place. 

A few moments later found Fuuko looking over the shoulder of one ensui-wielder as he showed to her the product of his fingers and her stiffening posture. She could hardly believe her eyes as she studied the rough sketch. The picture that looked back at her was so alive she could almost touch it. There was an open natural smile painted on her lips and a glint of amusement twinkling in her eyes. It made her look almost...well...what was the right word for it? Beautiful. For a minute or two, the gray image on paper made her feel pretty. 

As never before. 

Tokiya looked at the language her eyes spoke. He liked what he saw. "Errr...do you like it?" he asked tentatively. He could be wrong reading into it. 

The upturning of the curves of her mouth confirmed his thoughts. "It's beautiful." she said, then corrected herself. "The drawing I mean...uhm...the way you drew me was great...I certainly ddin't mean I'm beautiful...or anything." 

The tinge of insecurity was unmistakable. 

"But you are." his tongue slipped. "I think you are." 

His comment sent a whole new flooding of red hue on her face. "That's awfully kind of you." she laughed, trying to wave off her blushing. "I know I'm not. My friend Yanagi...now she's beautiful. I mean, really ladylike and pretty and all that." 

The mention of Yanagi's name brought a strong wave of memories rushing down on him. The girl who looked a little too much like his nee-san. Fuuko noted the momentary change of mood in him upon mention of Yanagi's name and felt her heart go flat. He probably knew Yanagi and had mentally compared her to Recca's hime and found her severely lacking. 

Drat. Another hormone-driven member of Adam's bloodline. And all the while she thought he was different. 

"You shouldn't think so little of yourself." he spoke up suddenly, his distraction gone. "I'm sure there are other men who look at you as such." 

"It's nothing" she defended and with a shrug of her shoulders continued. "Not that I mind. I don't. I mean, there are other things in this world to worry about other than getting admiring glances and wolf-whistles and all that. I'm not that superficial." 

"I didn't think you are." 

"Pretty?" 

"Superficial." 

It was the beginning of a cordial conversation. 

The afternoon wore off, and had the sun not begun casting orange-purple rays on them, they would have not been aware of the time that had lapsed. 

"It'll be sunset soon." Fuuko noted as she hopped off the bench. "My oniisan must be waiting. I better go." she turned towards her new acquaintance. "I must be leaving now, Tokiya-san. It'll be nightfall shortly." 

He sat up straight from his casual lean. He wrote something on the page where he'd drawn her before tearing it from the sketchpad. "A remembrance." he said as he handed it to her. 

Au Revoir, the scribble at the bottom of the page said. Til we meet again. Underneath it was a signature of the artist. Tokiya. He didn't seem to bother with a surname. 

Au revoir. it was something to look forward to. It somehow seemed impossible to want for more. But who knows? Maybe someday. One day. 

"Domo arigatou." was all she could muster. 

Tokiya pulled up to his full height and Fuuko felt slightly dwarfed by his lithe build. He held out a hand to her. "I should be the one thanking. It was an inspirational afternoon. I had a good time. It was nice meeting you..." 

"Fuuko." she said, almost forgetting she had not introduced herself. "Kirisawa Fuuko." 

"Fuuko-san." the way he said it with a hint of gentleness sent Fuuko's pulse to go off wildly. "Sayo-nara. We'll cross apths again, someday." 

"I look forward to it,Tokiya-san." she returned. And with a wave goodbye, she watched him disappear amidst the rays of the setting sun. 

She did look forward to it. And little did Fuuko realize it would be sooner than she expected. 

"Now where did oniisan go?" 

*******   
Tokiya was met by a flurry of men, going here and there, moving in several different directions all at the same time when he arrived later at the Uruha mansion. It was bustling with activity, as it had been for the last couple of weeks and he needn't ask why. Not that it was something he approved of. He did not. 

An invitation in black and silver, lying carelessly on the coffee table said it all. 

Ura Buto Satsujin. 

He picked up the card and grimly took in the details of the up and coming festival of unsavory violence. The thinning of his mouth into a line spoke volumes of what he felt about the whole event. He didn't like it. Not at all. 

"Into my office." 

The cold gaze that formed in his eyes met that of his superior. "Now?" 

"Now." 

In the confining four corners of Kurei's elaborate office, the master of the blue flame tapped his leather-clad feet impatiently. The expression on his face was just as. His brows were knitted beneath the cold, hard, faceless mask and the piece did little to hide the obvious irritation upon him. 

"You haven't signed up for any of the teams." he stated matter-of-factly. 

The ensui master replied with a shrug. "You know my stand, Kurei-san." he stated icily. "I don't like participating in random acts of violence just to please a crowd." 

"You are a member of the Jyu shin shuu." the older man reminded him. 

"We had an agreement." Tokiya replied. "I joined this organization not purely by heart. The one reason I am part of the Jyu shin shu is to find my sister's killer. With your vast connections with the underworld it would be much easier for me to locate a cold-blooded murderer than to be a free agent. And while I kill under your orders, it does not include one for the thrill it would bring to bloodthirsty barbarians." 

Kurei fumed. While Tokiya's words were true, the latter had never taken to defying him before. Not in the last four years he had been with the Uruha did Tokiya ever question or argue with him about their activities. But back then there had not been an Ura Buto Satsoujin. The idea was a a relatively novel one for the ensui master. 

"There is much at stake in this 'mindless tournament.'" Kurei mocked, putting emphasis in the last two words. "It's more than money. Much more." He paused, remembering the cruel memories of four hundred years back. "It's about vengeance...and taking back what is mine. Truly mine. Something that had been taken away shall be restored and this tournament will bring it back to me." For a few seconds, the man in the iron mask pondered. A wicked smile found itself on his lips as an idea began to formulate in his twisted head. 

"You said....you joined the Jyu shin shuu to find your oneesan's killer...correct?" he began slowly. 

The other man didn't like the way the tone of Kurei's voice went. "Yes." he answered firmly. 

Kurei took the chair exactly opposite Mikagami's. His eyes directly held that of the ensui wielder's. "The Ura Buto Satsoujin draws more than a handful of evil elements from all places. Money and prestige are...very enticing prizes. Honor is at stake as well." He moved a little back and drew his forefinger down his cheek. "I wonder...what chances would there be...that a festival of gore...could possibly...draw from hiding certain kinds of criminals. You know, mercenaries that get paid for doing things like, say, kill for thrills." 

"You're saying..." 

"I'm saying a matter-of-fact." the scarred one stood up suddenly, pacing the room like an animal on the prowl. "That a special tournament like the Ura Buto Satsoujin is more than likely to draw a hundred and more different elements of the underground. The more there are...the likelihood of meeting a hired cutthroat would be higher than usual, don't you think?" 

"You mean I have a better chance of running into my sister's killer this way?" the silver-haired Uruha stated the obvious. 

"Brilliant deduction as always, my dear ensui-wielder." Kurei laughed maniacally, sensing his triumph. He poured a generous amount of wine on two glasses that were a permanent part of his office decoration. "Did you not say that your sister's murderer wanted the ensui?" Tokiya nodded. The flamecaster took a sip of the crimson liquid before continuing. "Then what better way to draw him our of hiding than to display the family heirloom? Like a bait...and when he bites..." he crushed the wineglass in his hand, oblivious to the blood that it drew. 

The idea of finally avenging his oneesan set all other contrary thoughts cast aside. Tokiya pondered as he introduced the fine wine on his lips, letting it all sink in. 

The mask of anger that had surfaced on his favorite assassin's facial features made Kurei want to gloat. He had pushed all the right buttons. Seemingly. All he needed to hear now was affirmation. 

"Alright." Tokiya conceeded. His tone was contradicting nonetheless. 

"I knew you'd come to your senses." before Kurei could push the button on his concealed intercom, Tokiya spoke up. 

"On one condition." 

The other man raised a brow. "And that would be..." 

"A mask." the master of the hyomon ken said with finality. "Just like yours. Take it or leave it." 

*******   
_Okay I suppose that the last few paragraphs of this fic were a tad rushed. But I have a bus to catch you see ^.^...and I'd really like to get this up because I'm bound to be terribly busy in the weeks to come. I hope you do put up with this. It's not as long as the previous chapters. I *would* do more next time, as the plot thickens. Again, reviews are much much appreciated. Til the next installment...._   
  



	4. Stolen Moments

HEVAVEN AWAITS   
by Fuuko no Miko   
Chapter 3   
Stolen Moments

She was running. Fast. So fast she was sure her feet barely touched the ground. She was panting, gasping for air when she ceased and had fallen on her knees. She looked back, trying to assure herself that her pursuant was far and she was safely hidden amongst the tall trees that surrounded the vast thicket she was in. 

Still breathing in a harried pace, she all but crawled towards the clear stream of water that flowed before her. She took a deep breath before scooping handfuls of the cool water to drink. The liquid travelled almost painfully through her parched throat, but it was relieving nonetheless. She took in a couple more scoopfulls before sitting back and attempting to catch her breath. She knew she couldn't risk staying here for long as she was sure the person chasing her would find out which of the forks in the road she took and find her. She had realized earlier in the pursuit that regardless of the direction she took, he was almost bound to find her. She could delay him only long enough and then he'd find her again. As if he had a bug planted on her somewhere. Either that or he was some kind of metal and she, the magnet that pulled him. She decided to take one last drink before setting off again, only to be shocked at the vision before her. 

A man's face. 

She'd almost jumped when she saw it, thinking he had finally caught up with her, but realized quickly that it wasn't the face of he who was giving her chase. She dared look again at the water's reflection, and gasped as she stared disbelievingly. 

Was that her face? 

**Why in hell do I look like a man?**

She rubbed her eyes, thinking that the illusion would go away with the clearing of her vision. But the image on the water's surface remained. Fuuko touched her cheek and was alarmed to find the reflection doing exactly the same thing. And though she acknowledged the fact that her face had a tinge of masculinity, she wasn't that dense to recognize that the reflection showed a real male. Their eyes and hair were of the same coloring, and the face matched, albeit his had stronger features. His shoulders and chest broader and he was obviously taller. He wore a ninja's outfit, much similar to the one Recca favored when they first went to Kurei's mansion. Fuuko was sporting a shirt and jeans that were both now dirty and tattered from all her running. 

Reminding herself that she should not risk dily-dalying over a dumb trick of her exhausted brain and body, she proceeded to make a dash for the clearing ahead when she saw the appearance of another image on the stream's crystalline surface. A beautiful young woman with long, silvery hair and eyes that were like chips of ice, staring intently at her. Her mouth moved, as though calling Fuuko. The latter recognized a wound on the other girl's abdomen, slowly oozing with blood that began to drop on the water's surface, turning the stream red. 

"Ta...tasukete..." was the word that barely came from her mouth. 

Fuuko looked up. 

But it wasn't a girl she saw. It was a mask, an expressionless iron mask. 

He had a sword. 

He had caught her. 

"Matte!!!" 

The silent scream ended in her throat as Fuuko bolted upright from her supine position. Her breathing hard, her face bathed in sweat and her heart pounding so hard it felt like brusting through her chest. 

It took a few seconds before it occured to Fuuko that she was not in the middle of a thick forest but in the safe confines of her bedroom, swathed in the thick covers of her mother's handmade quilt and being watched over by the icons of J-pop plastered on her walls. Realizing it had only been a dream, she raised her knees, buried her face in them and hugged herself, as though comforting her from the turbulent contents of her head. 

It's been three nights in a row. 

It was almost always the same dream. The scenery would vary from time to time but the content remained. She would be running and he, or "it" more appropriately, would be chasing her. "It" being the operative word, since on certain days it would be a man, and on other times a woman. But the mask was constant. A cold mask of steel with the sign of death engraved on its forehead. And the sword...a long blade made of material she couldn't quite identify, but knew it wasn't metal. Crystal? Ice? Water? 

Add the fact that he always seemed to be able to catch up with her, one way or another. 

She never could outrun him, or her, or whatever it was. 

She had generally attributed this to the up-and-coming Ura Buto Satsoujin. Although fighting in general never gave her the jitters, this one was different. The opponents were more honed warriors who do this for honor and supremacy. Madougus were the main weapons and the stakes are much higher than an ordinary skirmish in the school playground could ever accomplish. It was going to be a long battle, and she knew it would never be easy. And though she had much confidence in the skills of the Hokage, she could not dismiss that nagging feeling that at some point, things were going to be much more than they can handle. 

Had they bitten off more than they can chew? 

She hoped she was wrong. Dead wrong. 

Her eyes quickly shifted to the golden-haired little girl sleeping beside her. Thankfully, her bedmate was still wandering in dreamland, unshaken by Fuuko's sudden awakening. She muttered something incomprehendable before pulling the partially-thrown-off covers around her. Fuuko moved carefully, not wanting to wake her up. A short glance on the bedside alarm clock told her she had but a half-hour to get ready before the rest of the team set off for the Ura Buto Satsoujin. 

*******   
He put on spectacles in place of the usual contact lenses he used on daily basis. The rim of the eyewear would conceal the lines that were beginning to form under his eyes. Lines produced by the lack of sleep he had for the last few days, thanks in no part to the disturbing nightmares that began to invade his usually restful slumber. 

Tokiya was no stranger to nightmares. He's had them almost every night the time his nee-chan was killed, and before that when his parents perished in the accident. His first few months with the Uruha was also plagued by nightly terrors that would jolt him awake. But after which, the horrid dreams would be few and far between. It was only during this last three or four days that his strange visions during sleep began to bother him. Giving him restless nights. Enough to cause a relatively haggard-looking assassin present at the breakfast table. And if Kurei hadn't been so busy with the preparations for the Urabutosatsoujin, he'd note that his right-hand man showed less vibrancy than usual. 

The Ura Buto Satsoujin. 

He should be all up-and-about by the time the blasted tournament rolls along. He can't afford to be in a narcoleptic daze while fighting. Though he had little doubt that he'd lose just because he needed more shut-eye, he didn't want to show a battle that was any less than the lethal show of skill he usually possessed. 

He didn't like half-baked performances. 

Besides, Kurei-san doesn't take kindly to pathetic show-ups for the Uruha. He can be severely unforgiving. 

A half-baked Uruha was considered a dead one. 

Especially one who belongs to the caliber of the Jyushinshuu. 

After having his regular fare of oatmeal, toast, bacon and a mug of steaming coffee, Tokiya walked out towards the grounds of the coliseum. It was still early but people have been arriving by the dozen. Spectators mostly, men who have nothing better to use their time on than watch this public display of blood and gore. The combatants arrived a while later in smaller groups. All heading for the registration area and falling in line. 

"Konbanwa, Mikagami-san!!!!" 

Tokiya turned about to see Demi walking towards him, skipping merrily. 

He simply nodded in acknowledgment. 

"You don't look trussed-up for battle." she commented as she took the place beside him. "Which team are you on?" 

He didn't reply. 

"Are you even in the tournament?" the mouse-eared referee inquired. He was testing her patience, as always. 

A smirk found its way to a corner of his mouth. "You ask too many questions, Demi-san." 

"And you don't give too many answers yourself." Demi pouted as Tokiya began walking away. For all his good looks, Tokiya Mikagami was about as friendly as a grizzly bear. Which was too bad. She was certain he'd attract more people to him if he had a more amiable personality. Not necessarily admirers, as Kami-sama knows he's got more of them than he'd ever want to, but friends. He seems so...alone. Like a magnet, he tries to repel anyone who ever attempted to get close to him. 

"I'd love to see the day somebody breaks that icy exterior of yours, Mikagami-san." Demi called out to the ensui master. But he had walked away far enough not to hear her. 

******* 

She was the first thing he noted when he stepped towards the registration area. There weren't too many females who attended the tournament whether as combatants or audiences so she was easy to notice. But then he guessed he'd find her even if females were the only contestants. Something about her drew him, regardless. He'd give an arm and a leg to know what it was or how she does it. He didn't have a clue. 

He was standing a full twenty feet away, embedded amidst dozens of warriors, lining up and waiting for their turn at the table or at the arena. Most of them noisily bantering, talking about strategies, opponents and prizes. Tokiya unnotably blended with them, listening more than speaking. All the while his attention focused on the girl standing far and away. 

Raiha looked up from discussing the conditions of joining with the creature at the registration table. His eyes located that of Tokiya. And even at at distance their gazes met. 

_Is that who I think it is?_ the purple-haired Hokage wondered. 

A passerby blocked his line of vision, and by the time he had it again, Tokiya was gone. 

"What are you looking at, Onee-san?" Fuuko inquired. 

"Nothing, nothing." he dismissed. "I just thought I saw someone familiar." 

"So its settled." the registration official declared. "Yanagi Sakoshita will be your wager for the tournament." 

"Yes." Yanagi confirmed. The look on her friends faces showed obvious disapproval, but her decision was final. They could do nothing more to sway her. Recca was the most dismayed of all. 

"Don't worry, Recca-kun." Yanagi smiled to allay his anxiety. "I know you wouldn't lose." 

**We can't lose. We can't afford to**_._ Fuuko thought. 

The rest of the Hokage echoed her thoughts. 

Tokiya's brow raised upon overhearing the wager as he got closer to the registration table. They're willing to put the Sakoshita girl up as a prize? He didn't know what manner of men these Hokage ninjas are. Other than the one they called Raiha, the rest of them looked relatively weak and inexperienced. How could they even think of doing that? But then he guessed it would spell better for the Uruha and Kurei-san. They wouldn't have a difficult time acquiring the healer Mori-sama wanted so badly. 

Then again, maybe not. 

His line of thinking was interrupted by the sudden skirimish that erupted. He heard the registration officer mention something about testing the ability of the Hokage to qualify into the tournament and then all hell broke loose. Tokiya stepped aside as a group of twenty men attempted to squash the neophyte team of teenagers. And while he was severely tempted to see how Fuuko was faring, he swiftly turned about and walked away. 

It was not the time for him to inject himself suddenly into her life. Not yet. Not now. 

When he looked back he wasn't that surprised to see the Hokage standing. All in one piece. Nary a scratch on the team members. In less than 20 seconds too. Fifteen if he counted correctly. Seemingly, as they have proven before, they were a force to be reckoned with. Never to be underestimated. 

Tokiya hoped Kurei-san realized that. He knew he had. Initially he was more dubious than certain the Hokage would be a significant participant in the Urabutosatsoujin. Now he wasn't as sure. 

"Measuring up the opponents I see?" 

The bland expression on Tokiya's face didn't change upon seeing the speaker. "They're more than they appear to be Aki-san." 

"They're nothing but a bunch of stubborn teenagers." the blue-haired girl commented. "I find no difficulty in defeating them. I doubt they'd even make it through the first round." 

"You never know." he said drily. "What are you doing down here anyway?" he tried to sway the conversation. "Aren't you supposed to be in the mansion?" 

_Following you and looking for that bitch you seem to be attracted to_, Aki mentally replied. Instead she painted a smile on her lips and hooked her arm around his. "Just looking at the adversaries," she answered sweetly. The look he shot her showed disbelief but Aki shoved it aside. "Let's go backstage. I want to show you my costume for the fight." 

He immediately disengaged himself from her. "I have more important errands to do, if you don't mind Aki-san." 

"But I do mind." Aki pouted. Not that her statement changed his decision as he quickly went in the opposite direction. She followed suit and trailed behind him. 

_She can be such a pain sometimes_, Tokiya thought as he manuevered amongst the fallen bodies of men who were engaged in battle with the Hokage earlier. He risked a quick look behind him to see if Aki was still following him when he suddenly collided with a solid object. 

It wasn't a large thing, but it must have been moving fast enough to cause a relatively strong impact, almost knocking him off his feet. He quickly regained his balance but the one he ran into fell smack with a resounding thud on the floor. 

"Watch it! You..." 

It was a good thing Fuuko held back the obscene retort from escaping her lips. She became awestruck when her neurons registered who stood before her, offering his hand to assist her in standing up. 

"Tokiya-san?" 

A current ran through her nerves when his hand touched hers and he pulled her up. 

The same kind of electricity that excited her when he first touched her hand not too long ago. 

"Gomen nasai." 

He didn't let her hand go just yet. 

"Is that you, Tokiya-san...?" 

But before anything else could transpire betwen them, a petite blue-haired girl interjected herself and pulled him away. 

He didn't look back. 

And disappeared among a bunch of rowdy men who were picking a fight amongst themselves. 

Fuuko blinked. Was she seeing things? The collision was real, she was sure of that. Her behind still hurt a bit from her landing on the marble floor. But was he? Had she been thinking of Tokiya too much to cause her to see him in the guise of another? It was too quick to note, but then... 

What would he be doing in the Ura Buto Satsoujin? 

She recalled their conversation a little over a week ago. 

"Where do you study?" she had asked him after telling him of her school. 

"I don't." he replied curtly. He seemed to have a penchant for short answers. 

"You work then?' 

"Yeah." 

"What do you do?" 

He flashed her a smile that would've knocked her off her knees if she'd been standing. "Why'd you want to know?" 

"Curiosity." she answered for the lack of a better reason. She didn't think he bought it though. 

"Aren't you all?" he smirked. "I do some work for a businessman and his son." he supplied. 

"Oh." was all she could mutter. He didn't look the type to sit back on a desk filing papers or typing letters. He looked and sounded too smart to do so. 

"I know I don't look the part." he seemed to have read her thoughts. "But it's something temporary. I just need to accomplish a few things before I move on." 

She detected a slight change of intonation when he mentioned something he had to accomplish before moving on. But it changed quickly before she could evaluate its meaning fully. "I'm thirsty. Care for a drink?" he offered. 

She nodded. He left and came back with her favorite rootbeer and canned lemon iced tea for him. After that they started talking about soccer. 

**I do work for a businessman and his son**, he had said. Fuuko wondered...if it had indeed been Tokiya she ran into...could he be working for Kurei and Mori Kouran? 

"Oi, Fuuko!" Recca called from afar. "What are you doing over there? We've got to get settled!" 

"Coming!" she yelled back. Her eyes searched around for any trace of him in a crowd of warriors and onlookers. But the vast number of combatants have gathered in the registration area and had blocked whatever sight there may have been left of him. 

Tokiya cursed his luck as he absent-mindedly allowed Aki to drag him away. He didn't want Fuuko to know he was here. Not yet, anyway. He'd introduce himself properly, maybe think of an excuse why he was here and to put up a facade she wouldn't recognize in case she got around to watching any of his battles. He wanted her to see Tokiya Mikagami the man. Not Tokiya Mikagami of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. 

Somehow he felt the initial impression he gave her as a regular clerk cum artist would disintegrate the moment she found him slicing his opponents with the ensui. It wasn't a very good impression. Fact is, it would be a real lousy one. 

_And since when did you become overtly concerned with making a good impression on a girl, eh Mikagami?_ he seemed to hear his alter ego taunting him. _You're a stone-hearted assassin. Kurei-sama's perfect soldier. The prime example of what a cold-blooded Uruha should be._

And here he was worrying what a wide-eyed, messy-haired tomboy would think of him. 

It bordered on the ridiculous. 

Didn't it? 

Kuso!   
******* 

They called him desumasuku. 

Mask of Death. 

When he marched in front of a bewildered audience on his lonesome, a wave of audible whispers proclaimed uneasiness in his presence. Regular spectators have did not recognize him from any of the previous Ura Butou Satsoujins. The fact that he was new and was alone stimulated more than plain curiosity among the onlookers. 

His scheduled opponents on the opposite side of the arena scoffed. 

"Pretty brave of you to come here on your own boy!" one of members of the other team chided. "You must be wet behind the ears!" 

A behemoth standing over 7 feet sneered. "Where's the rest of your crew? Have they ran and left with tails between their legs?" 

"Why am I beginning to think this is just a waste of our time?" a third one added. "He doesn't look he'd last through even one of us." 

A middle-aged warrior who served as the team's captain wasn't as sure. "He is of the Uruha Kurenai." he stated. "I most certainly doubt Kurei-sama would send someone by himself if he knew he couldn't assure a victory." 

"Surely you jest, Hirato-sama?" the first one asked. "He looks skinny as a streetlamp! Other than that creepy-looking mask of his, he looks no more threatening than a thirteen-year old girl." 

"You know little of the Uruha Jyushinshuu." observed Hirato. "Kurei-sama is a wily character. He can be very deceptive." 

"Deceptive or not, I want a piece of this Desumasuku!" declared the 7-foot giant as the referee, Toraha, called him for the first bout. "Preferably his scrawny neck." 

The words of insult and disbelief came not only from the other team but from hecklers in the audience as well. Names referring to half-hearted males and synonyms to poultry were thrown at the sole member of the Uruha Kurenai in attendance. He paid them no mind as he stepped on the arena platform, the overhead lights catching the silver material of his mask, making it almost blindingly bright. 

He was clothed in black. A form-fitting outfit that outlined his slender but solid-muscled built. His leather pants adhered like a second skin while his long-sleeved shirt stretched over his well-shaped torso. His feet were covered in leather boots, much like his master, Kurei-san. A silver necklace looking like a chain hung from his neck with a yin-yang pendant. He had thrown his silver hood and cape aside, letting his long tresses freefall like a watery curtain on his back and revealing fully the silver mask covering his face. It was an unusual mask, with slits just enough for his eyes to see through. On the corners of the eyeholes were two groove-like canals lined with blood-red markings extending downward. It appeared as though the face of the mask was weeping, with blood serving as tears. And though the tears were simply colored areas, they were so well made they looked real. Too real. It gave more than a handful of members of the audience goosebumps. As a final touch to the macabre look, the creator of the mask had engraved on the forehead of the metal piece the kanji for death. 

Tokuma, the seven-footer, crossed his arms arrogantly as he walked over the middle of the ring. His opponent silently stood there, not a word out of him despite the jeers thrown at him. While Toraha explained the rules, Tokuma looked down at the other man. He was met by an icy blue gaze with coldness that had an impact of an arctic blast. A chill ran through the bigger man's spine, for a reason he couldn't totally fathom. By the time Desumasuku shook his hand, Tokuma was more than a just a little anxious. 

From a concealed portion of his attire, Desumasuku pulled out a sword with a blade of ice. 

Kurei had told his right-hand-man that participating in the preliminaries was not necessary, as Uruha Kurenai was the last tournament's champion and could forego the particular round. But he had stubbornly insisted, citing the fact that it was his first match in an event such as the Urabutosatsoujin. The Uruha head had no choice but to allow him so. But he had let his man go alone and fend for himself. It wasn't much as a punishmment for his bullheadedness than it was a test of his ability. Kurei had known Hirato Takafumi's group was more than average but he knew his man was better. 

Much better. 

Half an hour later, when Kurei turned on the monitor, he saw his henchmen entering and picking up five bodies from the arena. Two of them were dead and three others were wishing they were. A lone figure stood in the center of the arena amidst deafening cheers. 

Tokiya Mikagami had scored his first victory. 

In another part of the building, the Hokage celebrated theirs. 

*******   
"This might interest you." Kurei declared as he tossed a videotape in the lap of a resting Tokiya. The latter was relaxing on a recliner with his feet propped up. A glass of red wine rested in his long, fine-boned fingers. 

"Your favorite team I surmise." Tokiya noted blandly as he inserted the video tape in the VCR. His superior took the chair next to him. "That one should pose a threat." he commented as Raiha, the first one to step into battle, made short work of Daikoku and his spinning staff. "He's good. Very good." 

"I wonder how much its going to cost to lure that one into the Jyushinshuu." joked the scarred flame master. Although a serious undertone could be detected in his implication. The purple-haired Hokage didn't even sweat after finishing off the first of the Kuu Team. Kurei was more than interested on how the one they called Raiha would fare if given a stronger opponent. 

"You just might be in for a package deal." Mikagami answered. "The girl with the fuujin is his sister." 

Kurei thought he detected something different in the way Tokiya spoke when he mentioned the Kirisawa girl. He cast a sidelong glance at the ensui-wielder but saw no change in the latter's facial expression to implicate anything. He guessed he must be imagining things. 

They watched the rest of the tape in near-absolute silence. Not much was said other than an occassional sentence here and there until they got to Recca's battle with Kukai where Kurei seemed to have reserved all his vile comments for. Tokiya regarded his superior with subtle amusement. 

At least an hour after the master of the blue flame left his quarters, Tokiya removed the tape and using his madougu, ripped it to shreds. 

He went to his dresser table and picked up the frightening piece of metal that shielded his face earlier. 

Desumasuku had a job to do. 

*******   
Fujimaru stumbled drunkedly on his way back to the hotel where the participants of the Urabutousatsoujin were staying. He had stayed way over an hour after Kukai had told him to return. What could he do? He can't help it that the alcohol they served at the bar was so darn good. Too bad none of the lovely ladies wanted to share it with him. 

"Tish their losh, not mine...*hic*" he told himself as he staggered in a drunken daze. He tripped, falling on all fours on the damp grassland. He struggled to get to his feet, holding on to the lamppost before him as he tried to hoist himself up. 

Now since when did they start putting lampposts in the middle of a country dirt road? 

When the drunken member of the Kuu looked up, it wasn't a lightbulb that he saw. 

And before his alcohol-befuddled brain could register anything, he felt a sharp kick on his chin, sending him careening backwards and hitting a tree. Hard. 

Fujimaru tasted blood as it trickled down his mouth. This nearly knocked him into sobriety as his blurring vision made out an approaching figure in the darkness. A tall, trim figure in ebony clothing, with his hood and cape flowing dramatically in the wind was approaching him. And while his lean figure didn't seem to pose a threat, the mask that gleamed onimously under the light of the pale moon did. 

"W-Whazz your f***in problem, man?" Fujimaru spoke roughly despite the fact that his heart was thumping fearfully in his chest. 

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to respect women?" came the voice from the evil-looking mask of metal. 

Before the lewd fighter of the Kuu could muster up an answer, another kick sent him flying across the dirt path. 

*******   
Fuuko was sitting by the window of their hotel room, nursing a reheated mug of hot chocolate Kagero-san had made earlier. It was nearly two in the morning but she could not get herself to sleep. The rest of their team was deeply in slumber. It wasn't that she wasn't tired from the events of the day as the others were. She was. Especially after that battle with the despicable Fujimaru that left her dog-tired. But when she spent the better part of an hour tossing and turning in the bed she shared with Kagero-san, she decided she'd sit up until the lulls of sleep would lure her to bed. 

It was all Tokiya's fault. 

Or at least the man who looked like him. 

But it was Tokiya. She was sure. Positive. 

Unless her imagination ran absolutely wild on her, she could swear on her life that it was him. 

The man she had ran into had the same build as Tokiya. The same short, silvery hair inside the baseball cap. She didn't get a good look at his eye color behind the spectacles. But the voice, that laconic way he apologized to her spoken in tones bereft of emotion was one and the same. 

What would he be doing in the Urabutousatsoujin then? 

It would have really bothered her to know that he was working for Kurei. 

**Why should it though**, another part of her inquired. The guy obviously worked behind the scenes. He was probably a secretary or an accountant. Hell, he might not even be working for Kurei and Mori Kouran. He had mentioned before that he worked for a businessman and his son. And how many firms in Tokyo are run by father-and-son tandems? Tokiya could be here merely as a companion to one of Mori Kouran's filthy rich guests. Kagero-san had mentioned that games like these drew more than the usual crowd of wealthy people who did high-stake betting. Gambling with human lives and placing their bets on it. The thought made her shudder with disbelief at the inhumanity of it all. 

She gazed at the half-moon that illuminated them that night. She sighed as she made a subconscious wish. 

**If only I could see him again.**

She didn't know why she wanted to. She just did. Not because she thought he had the least been interested in her. That was highly unlikely. He was just being polite back then, asking to draw her and all. He was probably even bored then and had talked to her merely to appease it. 

_Don't think that way, imouto-san_, her brother advised her after she had related to him what had transpired between her and Tokiya that afternoon. _You are attractive. Just because you don't get chosen in a beauty contest doesn't mean you aren't. And besides, you have a good heart. Perhaps that was what he appreciated the most._

If only she could believe her oniisan. 

Because she had wanted to think he might have, even with the slightest possibility, found her likeable. 

An ear-piercing scream tore through the night, interrupting her thoughts and waking her two sleeping companions. 

"What could that be?" Yanagi asked as she ran towards the window. 

"Who could that be?" Fuuko asked alternatively. Though the screeching sound sounded vaguely familiar. 

"It rather sounds like that fellow you battled earlier Fuuko." Kagero said as followed Yanagi to the window. 

"That blasted idiot Fujimaru?" Fuuko raised her brows. She listened and heard a bellow similar to the one she mustered up from him earlier. "He probably got beaten up for leching his drinks in the bar." 

A full minute passed by with no further sounds. The two women then decided to return to bed. Fuuko followed shortly, her thoughts still preoccupied with the man with silver tresses. 

The following morning, Saicho woke up to find their lecherous teammate sprawled on the hotel lobby. Badly beaten and barely breathing. A piece of paper was tacked to his torn shirt with Fujimaru's incomprehendable scrawl. 

**I swear on my blood that I will respect women from now on until the day I get buried.**

Nobody asked who did a number on Fujimaru. Many thought he deserved it. Not that he would rant on who did it to him either. For some odd reason he chose to be silent, merely thankful that he was still alive. 

Raiha, despite himself, managed a smile. Whoever got to Fujimaru did him a favor. After what that worm did to his sister, he would have trampled him himself. He would have, had he not been a bit more rational.   
******* 

"What d'ya mean we can't start the second round?" Recca asked annoyingly. 

"As if you don't recall what happened yesterday?" the mouse-eared referree replied. "You," she pointed out, "put potholes on the platform." 

"Can I help it?" Recca said arrogantly, receiving a customary wallop from his teammates. 

"Why are you in such a hurry? That platform is going to be your grave anyway." 

The Hokage turned to see a beautiful red-haired woman with a flute. "Neon of the Uruha Jyushinshuu." she proudly introduced herself. "I came to see you in person before Genjuroh's team makes chopped liver out of you." she eyed them derisively. 

"One of the persons in Kurei's mansion." recalled Recca. "Don't be so sure of yourself! We won our first round." 

"A stroke of luck." Neon said. "I just came down to say hello...and goodbye." and she flashed a wicked smile at them before walking away. 

"One of Kurei's jyushinshuu, huh?" Domon said, following her with his gaze. "She's pretty, but Fuuko is still all I want." 

Raiha wasn't able to prevent his younger sister from punching Domon. 

"Well, if it's going to be awhile, I think I'd take a walk." Fuuko declared. "Care to join me, oniisan?" she asked her brother. 

He gently shook his head. "I'd love to imouto-san, but there's just a little something I'd like to do." 

"Okay." she said before happily running off. 

Raiha took off in the opposite direction. 

What the siblings didn't know was that they searched for the same thing. 

Or the same person for that matter. 

And only one of them was bound to find him. 

The castle seemed to beckon to her to enter. Unfortunately the guards didn't share the same feeling. 

"Go fish." Fuuko stuck her tongue out at the two men in black who denied her entrance. She turned about, ticked off at having been turned away. She hid behind a tree after getting an idea of how to get herself in. 

"What was that?" one of the guards said upon hearing the rustling of leaves from a certain distance. 

"We better check." the other one declared. The two abandoned their posts to see what caused the noise. Fuuko came dashing from the opposite direction and quietly slipped in through the door. 

"Baka." she giggled as she made her way through the seemingly empty castle. She stood in the middle of a grand hall, awed by its magnificence. Nobody appeared to be present, however, which left her walking in slow strides while admiring the palace's grandeur. 

After taking a cautious tour of the first floor, and evading the occassional guard wandering in the corridor, she decided to take a peek at the second floor. 

"What a beautiful place." she said to herself, wondering how much it would have cost to build the majestic structure. Mori Kouran obviously had money to burn. Loads of it. She was pondering on this when she touched a part of the wall that began to move. 

"What tha..." 

The next thing she knew she began falling into an abyss. 

"Where the hell is she?" the leader of Team Hokage was near screaming with Domon trying unsuccessfully to pacify him. 

"Maybe I should go find her." Raiha said with a crease on his brow. Fuuko was never late like this. She always made it a point to come on time and perpetually stressed that. He feared something might have terribly gone wrong. 

"You can't go, Raiha." Kagero stressed. "They might disqualify us." 

"Who's gonna fight in Fuuko's place though? We can't battle with just the three of us." Domon pointed out. 

The subject of their conversation was unknowingly stuck in the bottom of a pit, cursing her luck and waving angrily at no one in particular. 

"Fuuko no baka!!!" she berated herself. She had left the fuujin in her niisan's bag and she could find no exit. Feeling through the walls, she noted three buttons. "God let it be the one." she whispered as she chose one of the three, hoping it would be one for an exit. She gasped as a panel of the wall opened, ushering in water. Lots of it. And it filled the pit faster than she could count to ten. 

"Aaargghh!" she groaned loudly. "Out the frying pan and into the fire! Damn! Into the fishpond is more like it....help!!!" 

The trap door that covered the pit was made of solid steel. The walls surrounding it were several feet thick. Between the powerful rush of water and the thick walls, no one could hear the screams of help coming from within. 

But sometimes, instinct becomes a more powerful tool than actual witness. 

He was on his way out the castle when he passed by the empty stone corridor. He immediately noted that something was amiss. When he approached the wall that led to the trap door, he noticed that the secret panel had been moved. The dust patterns on its surface had changed and if one had taken a good look, as he had, a small handprint could be seen against it. For some odd reason he felt his heart skip a beat faster as he went on bended knee and pressed his ear against the solid floor. 

"Somebody!!! Heelp!!!" 

He quickly removed the jacket of his three-piece suit and kicked off his patent leather shoes. He pushed a button located in a corner known only to members of the Uruha, opening the metal trap door. He muttered an oath when he saw that the water had gone up nearly to the surface. The one who had called for help was nowhere to be found. 

Aki was hurriedly climbing the stairway, angry at one of the guests who had delayed her from following Tokiya by making useless chitchat and asking for her number. She near tripped because she wasn't used to walking fast on high heels. She was about to go further to the third floor when she saw that the trap door on the second floor was open. Thinking an intruder might have infiltrated their hideaway, she hid behind one of the massive pillars supporting the castle. She gasped as she recognized the person who emerged from the water-filled pit. And what shocked her even more was the fact that he was not alone. 

_Who's that he's carrying?_

He laid her on a prone position on the floor, pushing on her back to release the water from her stomach. He turned her over and pressed again. When he decided that all the water was out, he carried her in his arms making his way to one of the guest rooms on the same floor. 

Aki decided to follow them. 

*******   
Fuuko no Miko's Rant:   
Okay! This seems to be getting longer than I assumed ^_^. Anyhow, you *must* forgive me for taking so long to follow up the chapters. I went on leave for a month (which was very, very necessary) so I didn't have access to my PC or the story. Gomen nasai! I know I left you hanging there. But anyways, now I have a wee bit more time to write so hopefully I can go faster. While reviewing the chapters, I noted a few more loopholes in the plot...but heck if you don't notice them then I won't point them out ^^;;;. As you note, I also borrowed a couple of scenes from the manga and modified them here and there. This story has waaay gone off tangent from Rekka no Honoo, more or less. And if you wonder why Tokiya must go on under the guise of Desumasuku (what a mouthful to pronounce!), it is because I have something special planned for him *cackles evilly.* My biggest apologies to Aki fans as well, for making her a bitch of sorts. Yeah well, there has to be an antagonist (as if there aren't enough already) in there somewhere...and Miki sure didn't look the part...Kirin's heart belongs to Rasen...Mikoto is strictly Mokouren's property and Aoi isn't supposed to make an appearance yet. **Rekka no Honoo and all its characters strictly belong to Anzai Noboyuki and I claim *nothing* to them.** All that belongs to me here is the plot, the idea, Hirato Takafumi's Team, and Desumasuku. **Desumasuku is *MY* creation** and nobody has the right to borrow him in any fic without telling me so, okay? Please? Desumasuku literally translates to Death Mask. His look is loosely based on Spiderman's Dr. Doom and one of my favorite professinal wrestlers, the Undertaker. Until the next chapter, keep reading ^_^. Please review!!!! 


	5. The Distance Between Us

HEAVEN AWAITS   
Chapter 4   
The Distance Between Us   
by Fuuko no Miko

Fuuko no Miko's pre-chapter ranting:   
Many, many thanks to the people who put up reading this material ^_^. And the lovely reviews as well, thank you, thank you thank you. My aim is to get around 100 by the time the story ends...would that be too much to dream of? Well, maybe. I dunno. In any case, I reviewed the previous chapter and supposed I was making Aki really nasty. Well, prepare yourself as she gets even *nastier*. And she aint the only one!!! Ready, get set...read ^^!!! 

*******   
**_Lie, cheat, seduce, betray people, all for money and power. And when people can no longer be used, destroy_**   
**_them.'- Kurei, Rekka no Honoo manga volume 3_**   
*******

"What seems to be the problem Aki-chan?" Miki asked her sister as the latter made mincemeat out of the beef they were cutting to be used in the stew. 

"Nothing." Aki lied through her teeth. Although Miki knew that there **was** a problem, she didn't press on. She knew the usually patient Aki had a nasty temper when its ugly head turns about. 

"Mikagami again." Neon spoke up. She marched into the kitchen, hands on her hips, a smirk on her lips. "How many times did I tell you to give up on Ice Cube?" she scolded the younger girl. "He's got so little warmth in that heart of his, he couldn't light a match with it." 

Miki supressed a giggle when Neon threw her a quieting look. Aki didn't reply and displaced her anger now on the onions she was chopping, turning them into pieces so small they could barely be recognized. 

"What does that ugly girl have that I don't?" she wailed angrily, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. 

"Haven't we been through this before?" the Uruha flute-player said in an exasperated tone. She took a stool opposite Aki and put her hand on the other girl's arm. "The only reason he's interested in that girl is because Mori-sama wants her. And Meguri-san tells me that Yanagi girl looks a lot like his dead sister...other than that..." 

"It's not her..." Aki interrupted. The tears fell from her eyes now. She wiped them with the back of her hand. "It's...it's...it's that stupid-looking tomboy with the messy hair from Hokage!" she sniffled. 

Neon and Miki's jaws dropped. Their eyes wide with disbelief. 

Miki was the first to react. She approached Aki, feeling her forehead and neck. "You don't feel warm." she said. "You sure you're not sick, Aki-chan?" 

The eldest of the three rolled her eyes heavenward, "Get serious, Aki!" she exclaimed. "What in Kami-sama's name made you think that? That girl who near got stripped in the battle with Team Kuu? The only thing that tells you she's female are those huge mammaries of hers! Even her niisan looks more feminine than she does." 

Miki could not help it and burst into laughter. She managed her next sentence with difficulty. "How could that be possible? I mean...ha ha ha ha...Aki-chan! That's the silliest thing..." 

"But I saw them...him...," Aki insisted. "In one of the rooms..." 

The blue-haired Uruha had followed Tokiya and his unwelcome guest to one of the numerous guestrooms in the corridor that led from the trapdoor. He had closed the door behind him and had locked it, thus she had contented herself on watching through the keyhole. Not that it gave much because Tokiya had his back to her. 

"Drat." she said. "What's he doing to her?" 

Tokiya's commonly pokerfaced features were now laced with worry. Although he had made sure she was alive by finding her pulse earlier, he was anxious about her status. How long had she been submerged in all that water? And it was damn cold too. He had goosebumps by the time he had emerged from those depths. She had already been at the bottom by the time he got to her. 

Thankfully the guestroom at this area of the castle was fully furnished. He had spread a towel on the bed before laying the unconscious girl on it. He had gotten another one to dry her off, patting the towel gently on her body. While it would've been more prudent to take her wet clothes off, Tokiya didn't consider that option and satisfied himself with wiping her dry. 

She'd already been through the trauma of nearly getting undressed in front of a male-dominated audience yesterday. She didn't any more of that kind of embarassment now. 

"Kami-sama, I hope you're alright." he spoke softly. He pulled a chair near the bed and sat beside her. He had turned on the heater and had covered her with a thick, soft blanket. "I hope I had not been too late." 

He sat there watching her quiet, even breathing. He was intrigued by the contrast of her appearance on different states. Awake she was loud and vibrant. A happy-go-lucky tomboy with a hide as thick as leather and enough energy to outlast even the Energizer bunny. But now in repose, she didn't look so tough or as mean. In fact, she looked rather vulnerable. Fragile. Feminine. Whether it was the circumstance that made it so, he truly couldn't tell. One thing he was sure of though, she looked now as if she needed to be protected. 

Though he most certainly doubted she would concede to that. He may have not known her long, but what she had demonstrated in her battle with that despicable member of the Kuu was enough. Enough to show him she was the kind of person who deemed herself independent. That she didn't ask for or want help. 

Even if she needed it. 

He succumbed to the temptation of wanting to touch her. He brushed several strands of hair that fell on her face, pushing it aside. He held his breath when she moved, turning towards his direction. He was relieved when she didn't rouse but in moving so, she had inadvertedly trapped his hand in between her cheek and the mattress. 

He blushed. 

"My prince..." 

This time he turned beet red. 

Fuuko was venturing in the alternative reality known as the dreamstate. In her head she had turned into a mermaid, swimming with the fish in the sea. 

"The mermaid princess awaits for the handsome prince to come and save her..." she mumbled. 

He couldn't help smiling as he understood her dazed rambling. He bent down and closed the distance between their faces. He was so close he could feel her breath on his cheek. His lips nearly touched her ear as he spoke to her. 

"Your prince is here. He has just saved you from the clutches of death." he said, in a voice just above a whisper. 

Fuuko opened her eyes. Slowly. 

**My prince...is he calling me?** she thought. When her eyelids lifted, she faintly registered a familiar face before her. His blue eyes filled with warmth and relief...his beautiful face framed with those soft silver locks...**It's not my prince**, she thought sleepily, **it's my guardian angel. From the heavens...and his name is Tokiya**. **My beautiful angel Tokiya.**

"What the hell?" Aki tried in vain to see what was transpiring. **Tokiya was bending down...was he kissing her? Or was she kissing him? He better not be! He can't be! How dare that ugly tomboy seduce him! How dare she!** In a sudden surge of emotion, Aki stepped back and bumped the huge vase that stood near the door, knocking it down and smashing it into a hundred pieces. 

CRASH!!!! 

Tokiya quickly stood up and opened the door. 

Fuuko snapped wide awake. 

Aki made a run for it. 

"Oh my head..." Fuuko groaned when she suddenly sat upright, still feeling the residual effects of her ordeal. It took a while for her to comprehend where she was and what had happened to her. When she realized that somebody had rescued her and had brought her here, she rushed to see who it had been, getting up and peering through the corridor to look for him. 

The corridor was empty. 

Shards of an expensive vase lay scattered on the floor. 

Her heart deflated when she didn't see who she had suspected had rescued her. Her head had still been spinning when she first opened her eyes and though she recognized the face that looked down upon her, she wasn't sure if she had still been dreaming. 

What a wonderful dream it was though. 

If only it would come true... 

Something that glimmered on the chair beside the bed caught her eye. She walked towards it and picked it up. Holding it up to see it, she recognized it as a pendant. A broken one though. Made of sterling silver and pierced in half. Apparently it was an old one too as there were dents and scratches on it. It was wet and Fuuko guessed that whoever he was that rescued her, owned the piece of broken jewelry. 

She suddenly remembered that old American movie her mother used to watch entitled "Field of Dreams." Although she never fully understood it, there was one phrase spoken by the male lead, Kevin Costner that stuck to her head since she was little. 

"If you build it, they will come." 

Or in this case, she thought, "If you wear it, he will come." He, in regards to her rescuer. She had an inkling this piece of jewelry, damaged as though it was, was owned by no less than that who saved her life. If it was any value to him, and she believed it was, he would come back for it when he noted it to be missing. 

And she'd let him know in no small terms that she had it. 

Of course there's always the possibility that the pendant was of no significance. That it was just a piece of junk she found lying there. 

She wanted to take her chances, however. 

And if she was right, she just might get to see her hero. Her prince. He who "rescued her from the clutches of death." She was on the verge of awakening when he had declared so. It was a line that ticked her pink. 

Fuuko smiled at the scheme she had just hatched. She was going to display the silver trinket...maybe put it on a chain and wear it during one of her fights.... 

Her fights. 

The fuujin-wielder turned pale at the sudden realization. 

"Recca is going to kill me." 

She never ran that fast in her entire life. 

*******   
She was seated in her favorite spot by the window, looking out the hills and forests that surrounded the area where the Tournament of Death was being held. For something so inhuman, the sanctuary that surrounded it was a paradise. The trees were just growing out new leaves this season and the flowers were in bloom. The days were warm but not too hot and a cool evening breeze swept through the nights. During the day the sun shone surrounded by a cloudless azure sky while at night the moon would glow majestically accompanied by the glitter of the stars. 

Subconsciously, Fuuko touched the pendant that hung on a fine chain around her neck. The pendant. That which would have linked her to her rescuer should he come for it. But it's been two nights and he had not shown any signs of retrieving his treasure. She rubbed the silver jewel, as though summoning a genie who'd make her wishes come true. 

She got a piece of Recca's mind that day she returned for her supposed bout with Shiju of Uruha Maboroshi. But he'd forgiven her afterwards when she related what had happened to have caused her delay. Her oniisan hovered over her like a mother hen, asking her if she was alright almost up to the point of annoyance. She understood him though, and appreciated his concern. 

Yesterday they had their hands full with Uruha Oto. One particular oddity was the fact that one of the members of Neon's troop wanted a piece of Fuuko. The girl with the short, blue hair they called Aki. Fuuko recognized her but couldn't pinpoint exactly where she had seen her. She would've stepped up and took on Aki but the matches had been predetermined and Recca, as a sort of punishment wouldn't allow her to fight. She had sought support from her oniisan but found none. He had taken up Recca's contention but on different grounds. He didn't want her to go sparring immediately after her life-threatening ordeal. The two men were deaf to her pleas. 

Aki looked incensed that she couldn't get her hands on Fuuko. Her eyes were blazing with rage. All the more when she lost to Domon. She had vehemently refused to give up her madougu, only doing so when Neon told her to, as Recca spared the latter's life. 

**What's her problem?** Fuuko wondered. She was sure she'd never crossed that girl in any point of her stay in the Urabutosatsoujin, unless ofcourse she beat up any of Aki's boyfriends. But the only one she had remembered clobbering was Fujimaru. Aki had to have better taste than that! She never even got to battle Shiju and their supposed opponents for the afternoon had forfeited. 

She fell asleep by the windowsill on that thought, her hand still holding the broken jewelry. 

The window opened quietly, and inside slipped a figure. Carefully he moved, so as not to wake up the sleeping girl. Thankfully, she had the pendant on the palm of her slightly opened hand. It would've proved more difficult if she still had it on the chain around her neck. He slowly reached in to slide the pendant away when her hand suddenly closed around his and her other hand grabbed his wrist. 

"Gotcha!"   
****** 

The moon was bright, the stars were out, the night was serene. By all measures it was a romantic evening. The atmosphere set up just the right mood for a night of romance. 

Then how come she was feeling anything but romantic? 

Her palms were sweaty, her heart palpitated like an angry tribal drum and her legs felt like jell-o. 

Her companion on the other hand, seemed as distant and as frozen as the iceberg that crushed the Titanic. 

She had rehearsed what she was going to say two days ago had he gone to retrieve his trinket. Now everything she had mentally practiced had seemingly flown out the window they went through. Everything seemed to have stopped short of her voicebox. 

To say she felt utterly stupid was an understatement. 

Kami-sama, he must think her pathetically dull and boring! 

Little did she know that the man who walked beside her had similar thoughts. 

_This is your bright idea, Tokiya Mikagami_, he spoke to himself. _Drag her out of bed and ask her to take a walk with you under the clear, beautiful moon without so much as allowing her to dress properly. And you couldn't think of a word to say!_

Comment about the weather? _Cliche!_ Or mention how beautiful the night is? _That sounded excessively corny._ Maybe tell her how pretty she looked in those oversized blue flannel pajamas with the matching slippers? _She'd never believe him._ Mention about the Urabutosatsoujin? _And have her screaming about Fujimaru._

Kuso! He felt like a neophyte. During his stint in the Uruha he had smooth-talked more women than his fingers and toes combined. And here he was out of anything to say to a girl little different than those females he'd encountered in the past. 

Would it be perhaps because he felt differently about her than all the others? 

"Thank you." 

"Huh?" 

Fuuko broke the ice by remembering how she never got around to thanking him for what he'd done. It opened a door for both of them. 

"I said thank you." she said in a more certain tone, trying not to sound silly. Kami-sama! She wished he didn't look at her like that. Her legs were already unsteady as it is. Those eyes had a particular look in them that made her want to melt like ice cream in the middle of the Sahara. "I never had the chance to thank you for saving my life. Back there, you know, at the water dungeon." 

When he stopped and smiled at her, she felt her knees go weak. Drat the man! Why did he have to look as though he just stepped out of a men's magazine? Looking all elegant in that white designer shirt and those snug-fitting jeans. Dressed in a hand-me-down fom her niisan with worn-out slippers to boot, she felt unworthy to stand next to him. 

"Think nothing of it." he said. "I just happened to be at the right place at the right time." 

"Talk about perfect timing. So how often do you go around saving people's lives?" she found herself joking. 

The irony of her statement almost made him laugh. But he kept himself in check. "It's not a common occurence." he said truthfully. "Anyone in my place would have done the same." 

"That I doubt." she commented on a more serious note. "I mean, if it had been any one of Kurei's Jyushinshuu, I'm sure the would've just let me drown there. Heck, they might even push me back in case I tried to resurface." 

It was good thing she was looking away from him. She might've noticed that momentary flicker in his eyes. 

They continued walking, this time in silence, only stopping when they reached a small clearing with a stream flowing through. They took a seat beside each other on the huge rocks by the bank. They sat there, listening to the flow of the rushing waters before them. 

Tokiya opened his palm to reveal the silver trinket he had attempted to obtain from Fuuko earlier. She had given it back to him a while ago after confirming it was his. It glittered like a gem under the pale light of the overhanging moon. 

"My turn to thank you." he spoke up first. "For returning this to me. I thought I had lost it in the water dungeon." 

"And my turn to say think nothing of it." she smiled. "Though honestly I didn't think it was worth much. What I mean is...well, it is broken. I didn't think it was really significant." 

Tokiya closed his palm tightly. "It's very important to me." he stated with a distant look in his eyes. "It is my link." 

"Link to...?" 

His eyes narrowed as he turned to look at Fuuko. Her blue-violet eyes wide with querry. In his head he fought a battle as to whether or not to reveal to her the truth behind the broken trinket. 

She withdrew her glance. "Well, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, then it's okay. I don't want to be pushy." she said. 

"My sister's murderer." 

His words caused Fuuko's eyes to grow wider. She stifled a gasp. Tokiya looked away. 

It was a while before she found her tongue. 

"Tokiya-san..." 

The knuckles on his right hand turned white as they clutched the item tightly. Slowly, a tide of anger began to surface through Tokiya's well controlled-features. 

"Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, it's alright. Really." Fuuko assured. She placed a hand on his arm as though pacifying him. 

Blue eyes met purple ones. Fuuko could almost feel the fury in them which he was trying hard to supress. His mouth had drawn into a thin line and his features took on a chilling appearance. 

When he opened his mouth, a voice came out that even he hardly recognized. It was one filled with an anger he attempted to put a hold on all these years. In those tones he had begun relating the event that turned his life about 180 degrees. Fuuko listened quietly, taking in every detail. When he had been young, some men had infiltrated their little apartment and had attempted to steal the family heirloom. His neesan had tried protecting it and him, getting herself killed in the process. Thankfully the men had well let him alone and had gone. But not before taking the one thing that he had considered far more important than any heirloom, the life of his beloved sister. 

"I was barely ten." he related. "What could I do?" Tokiya, then, out of rage and confusion, had chased the escaping men. He had jumped at one of them, ripping off a necklace one of them had wore. The man had struggled to get his jewelry back and in the melee had broken a part of it. The men had gotten away, however, and he was left with the broken trinket he now held in his hand. He had carried it with him ever since, looking for the other piece that would point to him they who had taken his neesan's life. It was a long shot, but it was all he had. All these years, it was the one thing he had held on to. The one thing that kept him going. The fuel that kept him burning. 

The thirst for revenge. 

Revenge for his beloved neesan. 

A moment of silence followed Tokiya's story. Interrupted only by the sound of the flowing stream and the crickets that sung through the night. Tokiya lowered his head and closed his eyes. He had told no one, other than Kurei-san and Meguri-sensei of the tragedy that befell him and that powered his desire to become what he was. It still pained him to talk about it, and it put a chip on the icy surface that he so painstakingly shielded himself with. He had learned long ago that not talking about it made it hurt less. 

Or so he thought. 

He didn't know why he had the urge to tell Fuuko what he did. Perhaps to make an honest man out of himself? He had no idea why he said what he said. It just came out spontaneously. Beyond his control. He wouldn't blame her if she turned away and never talk to him again. 

When Tokiya opened his eyes, his gaze was met by one filled with symapthy...and more importantly, a sense of understanding. 

"Is that why you're here? At the Ura Buto Satsoujin?" she inquired. "To look for your sister's killer?" 

He managed to nod. 

She put her hand over his and squeezed. "I may not be able to fully understand how you feel. Though I did lose my niisan too...when our parents divorced when we were small. I loved him very much and back then when we were taken apart, I felt so devastated. I was angry and confused and I hated the world for allowing me to part from the only sibling and friend I've ever had. Ofcourse my loss wasn't permanent like...yours. But I guess if I had hurt so much then, then all the more you are hurting now." 

Once again he dared look into her eyes, wondering how she was taking in his tragic past. He was nothing in them that condemned him. Just a look that told him, she somehow understood. 

Ofcourse he hadn't told her the full story yet. He was curious how she would react if... 

She discovered he was of the Uruha. The Uruha Jyushinshuu. And not just another assassin. He was Kurei's executioner. The right-hand man. Second in command and Kurei's confidante. 

Fuuko was the first to turn away, focusing on the stream before them. "So it was you I had ran into on the first day?" 

"Yes." he confirmed. 

"I didn't know you had long hair." her mood seemed to lighten up a bit, taking a turn away from the graveness of their earlier subject of conversation. "At the park it sure looked rather short." 

"I had it under my baseball cap." he said, matching her change of mood. "It makes me more...obscure." 

A corner of his mouth upturned and Fuuko smiled back. Having his hair down, with its silky, silvery lengths was sure to draw attention, which at that time in the park, he definitely had no need of. "You wear colored contacts too?" she asked. 

He affirmed. "I like variety." 

"But your eye color is great the way it is." she blurted out before she could control herself. She felt herself blushing afterwards. "I mean...I like them the way they are...I mean...they're so nice and blue...like chips of ice." 

She turned redder when she realized the implication of her statement. "What I mean is...uh, you know..." Fuuko shut her trap when he suddenly reached out to her her and touched her cheek, his thumb resting on her cheekbone. 

"I like the color of your eyes too." he said. "They're the color of African violets." 

"R-really?" suddenly she found her throat constricting, due to what, she couldn't figure. "I've never uhm...seen African violets." What a stupid thing to say! Fuuko thought after speaking. It wasn't as though she had anything better to. Her mind seems to be out of sync for the past hour or so. 

"They're very pretty flowers." he explained. "Mostly used as an indoor decoration. Majority of them take on this bluish-violet color. Though some may be lavender, red...they're not classified as true violets though. They're a wild breed, initially found growing on African cliffsides...they used to be wild flowers." 

_Just like you...a wild flower in an open field....and how I long to pick you from it..._his inner mind spoke. 

Fuuko swallowed. If her heart was erratic a while ago, now it was going berserk. The spot where his thumb caressed her face was growing warm. It sent little jolts of excitement down her spine. Her stomach was queasy. She wanted to say something...anything...but no words found themselves to her throat. 

Kami-sama, but he wanted to...Tokiya thought. He wanted to...his gaze moved to her lips that were slightly parted, as though wishing to say something. The pinkish tinge was natural, no smudge of that icky red goo a lot of women often used to paint their mouths with. They looked soft, inviting...and inside his head he wondered if anyone had attempted to touch them with their own. 

Something told him no one had dared. Not because they didn't want to, rather that she wouldn't let anyone to. 

It excited him to think he may be the first one. 

Her first...kiss. 

Goosebumps raised on Fuuko's skin as she realized what he wanted to do. The thumb that had rested on her cheekbone had now become a hand that cupped her face. He began closing the distance between their faces. And while her saner self cried out to her that she was being ridiculous and irrational, the rest of her didn't take heed. She wanted it. Wanted his lips to claim hers. Wanted him to take her in his arms and make her feel adored, and pretty and... 

Protected. 

She closed her eyes. 

The minute their lips came in contact, a loud splash in the stream before them caused them to jerk apart as magnets would repel. 

Tokiya reluctantly stood up and approached the stream. He frowned as he saw a relatively large chunk of rock landed in the middle of the water. It was the size of a human fist. It couldn't have gotten there accidentally. 

Someone was watching. 

In the corner of his eye, he saw a movement in the shadows. No three guesses on who it could possibly be. 

What he didn't see was a second figure lurking in the dark. Quietly observing. 

Fuuko took the spot beside him as he stood by the stream, eyeing the rock. "Maybe we should go back now." she suggested. "It's probably not safe." 

He nodded, disappointed at having been interrupted. "Perhaps. It is rather late. You should be getting your rest." he took her by the arm. "You wouldn't mind me walking you back, would you?" 

She shook her head. 

The walk back was less tense than when they started out. Conversation was light. They talked about life outside the Ura Butou Satsoujin, particularly because Fuuko didn't want them straying into anything even close to the death of Tokiya's sister. She had seen the hurt in his eyes when they had talked about it earlier. She didn't want him to relive the pain a second time that night. She planned on giving him her thoughts about it later. Later when she got around to thinking clearer and have her feet go down from cloud nine. 

"I'd like to see you again, Fuuko-san...if you don't mind ofcourse." Tokiya said before bidding her good night. 

"No, I don't mind." she answered. 

"Until then," he said before surprising her with a quick, light kiss on the forehead before she could protest. "Good night." 

"Good night." was all that she could muster. She watched as he disappeared amongst the shadows of the trees. Certain he was gone, she turned about to return to their room. 

She touched the area of her forehead where his soft lips made contact and blushed to the roots of her hair. 

Her heart was singing a merry tune when she got back to her bed. She almost didn't see the tall figure standing against the wall, looking at her with a question painted on his face. She near jumped when he cleared his throat to indicate his presence. 

"Uhurm..." 

"Nii-san?" 

A smile lit his features, seen via the moonlight filtering through the window. 

"For a while there I thought you were going to elope without telling me." he joked as he approached the bed quietly. 

"You're not supposed to let anyone know you're going to elope." she returned the jest as she moved to make room for him on the bed. 

Raiha took the place beside her and drew her into his arms. Fuuko leaned against him, snuggling in the comfort of his embrace. Just like the old days. 

Fuuko could recall it as though it was yesterday. She was four. Raiha was seven. He'd tell her all those scary stories he'd pick up from camp and frighten her to tears. Then she would sought refuge in his arms and he'd tell her that he would save her. Protect her from the Boogeyman, the Sandman and any other ghoul that would dare scare her off her shoes. He was her defender. 

When the bitter divorce and custody battle ended, she was left to fend on her own. Alone. No oniisan to rescue her from the monsters in all those childhood tales. She would find herself on her lonesome in that huge bedroom. No one to run to should the Boogeyman come for her. Her niisan was gone. For good. It was then that she had learned to defend herself, because no one else will. She was left to do her own battles as there was no longer someone she could rely on. Just herself. 

She had carried that until now. 

Fuuko Kirisawa can hold her own. Against anyone. Against anything. 

"Is there anything my imouto-san wishes to tell me?" Raiha began, interrupting her thoughts. "About a particular...bishounen I just might know?" he spoke in a teasing tone. 

"What are you talking about onii-san?" she tried to evade the question, but she guessed he knew anyway. 

"The one with the long, silvery hair who looks like a girl." 

"He does *not* look like a girl!" Fuuko protested. 

"Aha! I knew it!" he chuckled. 

"Nii-saaan!!!" 

"Hush, little sister. You don't want to wake up half the building now would you?" he motioned to silence. "Now why don't you tell your big brother what this is all about..." 

*******   
Fuuko was sound asleep when Raiha tiptoed out of her bedroom and he'd gone to his own. Once inside, he took a seat in front of the vanity desk. His eyes wandered towards a small photograph he had lodged in between the mirror's frame. He took it and examined it. It was an old picture. The Kirisawa family. Taken twelve years ago just a few months before their parent's divorce. Raiha, at the the age of seven was hugging his younger sister, then four. He remembered it then...back when the days were much happier and life was simpler. He sighed. If only he could bring back the time...if only kaa-san and oto-san didn't quarrel too much...if they didn't part ways...if oto-san had a better job...if there had been no debts...it would've never come to this. 

His gaze was focused on the image of his only sister. The smile on her face was genuine, her eyes filled with absolute hapiness. Almost like the expression he had seen when he followed her as she took a walk with the silver-haired boy from the park. He was neither blind nor dumb. His little sister was falling, if she hasn't already, for the bishounen who had near kissed her. She was obviously smitten, of that he was sure. He wouldn't have minded, if the truth be known, that she was beginning to see men in a different light. Only, he wished it didn't have to be this one. 

A few weeks ago when they first ran into Tokiya, he didn't have any misgivings about him. Heck, he even made sure that Fuuko & Tokiya could have some uninterrupted moments together. He wanted his sister to experience something different from her usual fare of physically knocking men off their feet. He wanted her to have a taste of those things ordinary girls had. But now, after he had followed them to make sure nothing objectionable would happen, he discovered a truth that would destroy something beautiful that he helped create. 

He loved his imouto-san very much, even more now when they had gotten reacquainted after being apart for so long. He would do anything and everything in his power not to hurt her. 

Raiha stood up from his position and began unbuttoning his shirt. He bit his lip as his upper torso was revealed through the mirror that looked back at him. He threw the garment aside. The light from outside shone on the glittering piece of jewelry on his chest. It hung from a silver chain around his neck. 

A broken silver pendant.   
******* 

From one of the bedrooms of the Uruha mansion, a sobbing can be heard. It wasn't that loud, but it was enough to draw the red-haired Uruha flute player from her bed. Particularly because she recognized the voice. 

"Onee-chan." the blue-haired girl mumbled in between sobs. She allowed the older woman to put her arms around her shoulders and comfort her. 

"Hush, hush." Neon placated her younger sibling as she stroked her hair. No words were necessary. She had more than an inkling of what may have transpired. 

In short sentences, Aki told Neon what she had witnessed by the stream, causing her such heartache. The latter's eyes initially widened but they later on took a more serious appearance as they narrowed into mere slits. She gave her sister a hug. By nature Neon wasn't the vengeful type. She may be labelled cruel and sadistic, but rarely was she vindictive. She did have her threshold however, namely having the people she loved physically or emotionally hurt. It was a sin she deemed unforgivable. 

It brought out a mean streak few people had ever witnessed. 

A very mean streak. 

"We'll get that weasel, imouto-san." Neon whispered. "I promise you. We'll get her." 

Fuuko Kirisawa would forever regret the day she met Tokiya Mikagami. 

She was going to make sure of it. 

*******   
Fuuko no Miko's rant for the chapter: 

Now even Neon gets to be an evil witch ^^;;;. Make no mistake, people. I *do* love Neon. But as reasonably justified above, she will become mean should anyone she feels much affection for, get hurt *coughcoughKureisamacoughcough*. We should be reminded ofcourse, that they are *URUHA* and contrary to all those comedy fics all of us are guilty of writing, they're not actually sweet people. Otherwise they wouldn't be Uruha in the first place. That's why I put that quote of Kurei-san in the opening paragraph. To remind us that the Uruha people are much capable of doing despicable stuff. But ofcourse they're not purely evil (maybe with the exception of Mokouren, Mikoto, Mori Kouran...oooh three Ms....but I'm saving that for another fic ^_~). They do things for different reasons. You may also note that Fuuko & Tokiya may go a bit (okay, major) out of character when they meet each other. Fuuko turns a bit girlish while the stone-faced Tokiya goes into softie mode. One word to reason it out: AFFECTION. Really now, people who (well, not all, but majority) are *inluv* tend to act strangely around people they are attracted to (speaking from first hand experience???). As a saying goes "Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise." 

Why am I even explaining all of this? 

Because I love you guys so!!! Thanks for reading and well...I suppose this would be done by two more chapters. Thanks again and I hope to hear from ya!!!   



	6. The Man In The Iron Mask

Heaven Awaits   
Chapter 5   
The Man in the Iron Mask   
by Fuuko no Miko

Mikoto cursed loud enough to wake Mokouren (who was sleeping beside her), when Miki threw a huge pillow at her. 

"What's your f**kin problem, carrothead?" she mumbled as she gathered the sheets to close over her head. "It's not even six o'clock!!!" 

Miki winced at the sight of a half-naked Mokouren sprawled on Mikoto's ironically pink bedsheet. It wasn't a rare occurence, in fact, it was a relatively common sight. Still she couldn't help but feel nauseated whenever she saw the two lovebirds entwined with one another. The site of Shiju eating one of his opponents was far more tolerable. 

"You finally agreed to a threesome, honey?" Mokouren chuckled as he tried to give Miki a slap on her behind which the latter quickly evaded. 

"Kurei-sama wants you all up. The Uruha Kurenai that is." she shook the half-asleep female assassin. "Your match starts earlier by an hour." 

Mikoto mumbled another curse and threw the covers from her face. "What the hell for? An earlier internment?" she growled. Knowing how persistent the younger girl could be, especially under Kurei-sama's orders, Mikoto wrapped the blanket around her and trotted to the bathroom. 

"How's about a quickie before you go clean the windows, huh sweetheart?" Mokouren snickered as a cross expression appeared on Miki's face. "I could teach you a lot of wonderful things to make your Tsukushiro a very satisfied man." 

"Go fish." Miki stuck her tongue out at the one-eyed mutant before turning away and blushing profusely. 

*******   
"You could've let me finish my dream first." Joker jokingly complained to Kurei as he marched into the arena amidst the deafening cries of the audience. "Neon-han was just about to ask me to marry her." 

"Particularly because it's only in your dreams that that's ever going to happen." Mikoto rebutted. "Neon wouldn't take a second look at you if you had antlers sticking out of your head." 

Kurei said nothing as two of his team began noisily arguing behind him. The other two remained silent. Noroi because he was a walking corpse and Tokiya because he preferred acting like one. Kurei had his reasons for wanting to do the battle early. He wanted to finish immediately so he could watch how his dear brother would fare against the Uruha Ma. He also had a second agenda for doing so, but it was something he would disclose to no one. 

The team on the other side stood gallantly as the former tournament champions made their entrance. The team called Jigoku no Ryuu were former participants of the Ura Butou Satsoujin. However, the team they had sent this year proved more skillful and more powerful than the last ones, thus enabling them to enter the semi-finals. And though Kurei is confident of a victory over this team, there was a nagging doubt that it wasn't going to be as easy as their previous matches. 

A burly man with long, twisted dreadlocks and dressed in a white hakama approached the middle of the ring. Kurei, as team captain approached as well. The other man said nothing as Kurei eyed him. He had seen this one fight and had thought of recruiting him for the Jyushinshuu. Perhaps if he would live by the time the round ends, Kurei would invite him to his office for an offer he couldn't refuse. 

When Kurei returned to his now quieted team, he turned to Tokiya and whispered to him. "Spare that one." he instructed, referring to the other group's captain. "He looks useful." 

A smirk appeared on Tokiya's face. "He does look good to take Jishou's place." 

The Uruha leader's mouth thinned upon having been reminded of Jishou's demise. It was not unexpected, as it was commonplace in tournaments like this. He only wished it had not happened to one of his more faithful men. 

Tokiya looked over the opposing team and focused his vision on the team leader. This should prove an interesting bout. Particularly since the other man had caught his fancy with that madougu he was wielding. If Jigoku no Ryu's leader had a silver necklace dangling around his neck, it would've been the clincher. But since he hadn't, Tokiya satisfied himself with investigating if the other man possessed one. 

And if he did have the other half of the necklace? 

He would have to disobey Kurei-san then. 

For he had vowed that whoever he finds in ownership of the other half would recieve a most unpleasant fate. 

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. 

His nee-san's life was taken away. He promised himself to take one back in return. Another life. And he would. 

Without remorse. 

*******   
Fuuko was doing stretches on the hotel garden's lawn when she sensed someone watching her. She turned her head to see a familiar face. 

"Konnichi-wa!" 

Fuuko eyed the other girl suspiciously. "Konnichi-wa." 

Miki took a seat beside Fuuko on the green grass. "Hey, relax." Miki smiled at a wary Fuuko. "We can't all be bad apples now, can we?" she flashed Fuuko a peace sign. "Besides, our battle is done and over with. That's the past. I want to be friends." 

The fuujin-wielder shook the hand the other girl offered. Though she was still a bit hesitant, the other girl looked sincere enough in her offer of friendship. Then of course she didn't exactly fit into the Uruha mold. She also appeared nicer than the one they called Aki. 

"Friends." Fuuko smiled genuinely at Miki. 

"Thanks." the red-haired girl said. "I'm glad you don't hold grudges. I'm not one to, either. I mean...oh you know." she shrugged. "I may be Uruha but I not always a bloodthirsty assassin." her cheeky smile was replaced by a sad one. "After all, the only reason I am part and parcel of this organization is because of Neon onee-chan. You know...siblings have to stick together through thick and thin. So even if I am not in exact favor of everything we do around here...I don't have that much of a choice." Her slender shoulders slumped. "Kurei-sama has been the only one kind enough to take us in." 

Although still a bit skeptical in the sudden turnaround of this Uruha, Fuuko felt a bit saddened by the other girl's plight. She gave Miki a squeeze on the arm. "Hey, don't be sad. One day everything's going to be alright...and you don't have to do anything you don't want to." 

"You really think so?" a small smile showed on Miki's lips. "Well, I guess if it could happen to Koganei, it could happen to me too." she added on a more positive note. 

"Preparing for your big match, huh?" Miki said after a short period of silence. 

Fuuko nodded. "Yup. The Uruha Ma looks pretty formidable. But I know we will win. Definitely." 

Miki forced herself not to burst out laughing. "Who? Magensha and his pets?" she joked. "They just look intimidating with all those creepy costumes of theirs. It helps to have a good designer you know. Now, Uruha Kurenai...Kurei-sams's team presents more of a challenge." 

She was baiting for a flicker of interest and was delighted to find one in Fuuko's eyes. "That I'd love to see. Uruha Kurenai in action" 

"You do?" Miki pretended to be suprised. "Well they do have an ongoing match right now." 

Fuuko's brows raised. "Right now? Where?" 

"In the Arena's F sector. I can take you there if you want." the other girl offered. 

She wasn't about to venture on her own again. Her ordeal with the water dungeon taught her that. "Hold a second, I'll just call my niisan. He'll be curious too." she said before the other girl could refuse. If this would be a trap then she would bring herself armed! 

*******   
Tokiya took a step back to reassess the situation. Under his mask, his breathing was hard. The sweat from his forehead dripped to the sides of his face. This match was taking longer than he expected it to. His opponent was helluva lot more skilled than what he assumed to be. But Tokiya could see that he was exhausted as well. They were both posed in a defensive stance, waiting for the other to make a move. 

_Damn but he was good_, Tokiya assessed. He didn't have too difficult a time finishing off the first two. They were good, but not half as good as this one. He learned that this one was as good with his hyouma en as he was with his ensui. In fact, some of their moves were similar, as though they had studied under the same sensei. He wouldn't wonder if they did though. Meguri-sensei has long been teaching before he ever laid eyes on the old man. 

_We'll see who the better student is._ Tokiya thought. _But I am most certain it is I._

Little did he know that the other man echoed his thoughts. 

"Go get him Kai-sama!!!" one of members of the opposing team cried. "Desumasuku no okama!!!" he heckled. 

When Fuuko made her entrance with Raiha and Miki, the two combatants were engaged in a classic swordfight. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce the arrival of some members of the Hokage Team!!!" Nemi announced on the PA system. "As you know they're one of our semifinalists!!! Looks like they're here to scout the opposition!" 

Momentarily, all eyes shifted to the threesome standing next to the announcer's table. Miki happily waved hello. Fuuko simply nodded. Raiha goofily smiled. 

_What the hell is she doing here? _Tokiya thought self-consciously when he heard the announcement. A flicker of suspicion flashed in his eyes when he saw Miki with the siblings. He wondered if she did it under Kurei-san's orders. 

_But why would Kurei-san want to draw the Hokage here? _the ensui wielder wondered. Bringing them here would only give awareness of the team of the Uruha Kurenai's tactics. Besides, they're not even certain the Hokage can breeze past Uruha Ma. Magensha and his boys were a powerful bunch. 

Damn! He didn't want Fuuko here. He didn't want her finding out...at least not until after he's told her of his status. And he had planned to tell her tonight after a carefully worded speech he formulated last night. He didn't need her finding it out now. _Kuso!!! Whatever got into Miki's head to drag the Hokage here?_ He didn't have a clue. 

Fuuko and Raiha took a seat on the announcer's table as they watched the match. Raiha chatted happily with the referee cum commentator, but his eyes were trained on the match. Fuuko observed interestedly at the ongoing battle. Needless to say she was impressed as the two warriors duked it out. They showed similar fighting skills. And the fact that their madogus were similar made it more interesting. 

Her eyes were particularly drawn to the man in the sleek black outfit. He was strong for someone with a lean build and he moved fast, like the wind. His body was slender but muscled. His long, silvery hair dramatically flowing through the air as he moved gracefully. The mask that adorned his face was ominous to say the least. He reminded Fuuko of that character she had once seen in an old movie, The Phantom of the Opera. 

Is that who he reminds me of, or perhaps...someone else? 

Her eyes suddenly widened at the thought that entered her brain. 

It couldn't possibly be... 

But no...how would that happen? Tokiya was a gentleman. He may have an icy exterior but deep inside he was warm and gentle and kind and... 

Ofcourse she had known him only for a while. Which didn't speak much, did it? For all she knew he could be some kill-for-thrills assassin or some whacked-up psycho on medications. It was difficult to imagine him that but these days...one never quite knew. He didn't look the part for sure....still she could not put two and two together and come up with anything logical. She took a good look again at the man who moved with such lethal precision on the arena floor. The man who fought against the dreadlocked guy from Jigoku no Ryuu had the same hair color, same hair length, same body built as Tokiya but she couldn't imagine them being one and the same. 

Hundreds of men come to fight in the Ura Butou Satsoujin, her mind reasoned as it tried to reject the horrendous idea. There's this huge probability that there would be *someone* out there who had the same physical characteristics as Tokiya, wouldn't there? 

Another part of her thought otherwise. 

The look on Fuuko's face made Miki smile. The plan was beginning to work, she thought happily. Making sure that Fuuko's attention was fully focused on Desumasuku, Miki moved her hand so that her bracelet would catch the light from the arena ceiling and flash brilliantly. 

The signal. 

"Hisame!!!" 

Tokiya's eyes narrowed at the flurry of icicles that broke from the tip of the hyoumaen of his opponent and begun flying towards him. He swiftly twisted his sword to shield himself, effectively reflecting them away, but not before recieving several shards that buried themselves in his left upper arm. He winced behind his mask as a piece pierced deeply into a muscle. But that did not alarm him as much as what had transpired next. For a fair number of icicles that had missed him flew towards the audience, particularly at the announcer's table. 

"Kuso..." 

"Watch out!!!" 

Fuuko, whose eyes have been nailed to the one called Desumasuku, almost didn't see the flying icicles headed their way. She quickly ducked under the table to avoid them, and was narrowly missed by a particularly large piece that smashed against the wall behind her. 

The referee, however, was not as quick and had a particularly nasty-looking icicle directed towards the area where her heart would be. 

Fuuko reflexly pushed Nemi out of the way and landed atop the panic-stricken referee. She wasn't able to notice all else as everything happened in a flash. When everything cleared, the announcer's table was upturned and everyone who had been sitting there thirty seconds ago were all on their backs, laying supine on the concrete floor. Fuuko, Nemi, Miki, and... 

"Raiha niisan!!!" 

The fuujin-wielder's cry pierced throughout the arena. She scurried over to where her brother laid flat on his back beside the red-haired Uruha, a meter away from her. He had heroically shoved Miki aside, preventing her from being on the recieving end of the flying icicles. In the event of which, had the shards piercing his right mid-shoulder. 

Raiha visibly winced when his sister pulled out the offending piece from his flesh. There wasn't much blood coming out, but he percieved that it was a nasty injury, regardless. His right arm felt numb and he could barely move it. 

"Nii-san..." Fuuko tried unsuccessfully to supress the anxiety in her voice. She wasn't particularly a worrywart but this was her niisan they were talking about... and he was injured! Badly! While she knew it wasn't fatal, she knew it had its consequences. 

"Geez, imouto-san, don't panic!" he joked, managing to smile despite the pain shooting through his body from the injured site. "It's just a cut. It won't kill me!" 

Miki was temporarily stunned, more to the aftermath rather than the preceeding event. Kai, the blithering idiot, had misdirected, purposedly or otherwise, over a dozen icicles her way. She would've ended up an icicle cushion had it not been for the bravely ninja who tackled her out of the way. She almost felt guilty getting the nice Hokage injured, but she quickly shoved away that thought. Right now she had to see the result of the plan she and her oneechan had orchestrated the night before. 

The rest of the arena was quiet, momentarily stunned. A few members of the audience had not been as fortunate and had pieces of the flying frozen particles stabbing them in several places. Paramedics had come in to take the injured away. Kai was standing still, his breathing hard. His lip tight. His eyes nailed to the scene before him. He had done the Uruha Jyushinshuu's bidding and he had hoped it would satisfy them. 

In his head he could clearly see the appaling vision. His pregnant wife, Sorata and their four-year old boy Hiromi, bound and gagged, their eyes filled with fear and their mouths forcibly stilled, the sound of terror choking in their throats. Beside them two of Kurei's men were holding katanas against their necks with Neon of the Jyushinshuu watching over. He would've defended them with his life had he been at home. But he was not. He was here, at this tournament which ironically, was what he wanted to win for them. The message had been delivered through a video in his quarters. 

"My conditions are simple, Kai-san." Neon had informed him. "I'm not asking for you to deliberately lose in the semis. No, no, no. We don't work that way. Regardless of what you think of us Uruha, we still enjoy winning honorably." 

"What do you want then, you b**ch?" he had muttered under his breath, the sight of Sorata's tears crushing him. 

"Nothing much." the flute-player had laughed. "Tomorrow, during your semi-final round, my sister, Miki-chan, will bring a member of the Hokage to the announcer's table. What I want you to do is...send some of those fancy flying icicles her way." 

"What for?" he growled. 

"None of your business." she answered sharply. "Not much to ask for is it?" she paused to look at her polished nails. "That is, ofcourse, if you can do it. Without harming my sister naturally." 

"I can do it." Kai snarled, his hands turning into fists. "Just leave my family out of this." 

"Until you get the job done." Neon raised a brow amusedly. "If and when you perform the job well, then your family will be left alone. Otherwise..." she laughed a derisive one as she eyed the frightened mother and child. 

"You've got yourself a deal." 

Kai didn't know what Neon had hoped to accomplish. He had been specifically instructed to send his flying shards of ice towards Kirisawa Fuuko of the Hokage. Not enough to kill her, but just enough to injure her. He had also been told to make sure his opponent Desumasuku would see it, as well as Kurei-sama. He hadn't the least idea why, but he followed her instructions anyway. He loved his family way too much to risk it. 

He sighed as he watched the female Hokage help up her injured brother. He felt sorry for having injured him. He had met Raiha a few days back and had instantly liked him. He would have preferred to have hurt some annoying members of the audience instead. He wondered if Neon would consider this job enough. He had aimed his icicles towards Fuuko Kirisawa, but he had missed his target and had near hit the referee instead. 

Desumasuku had deflected his aim. 

And while his opponent had blocked it so fast that the audience barely noticed it, Kai's trained eye did. Desumasuku knew that the flurry of icicles were not meant for him. Kai had thrown them at least half a foot away from the masked man. But he had thrown them off-course with a speedy turn of his ensui, which to the untrained eye would mistake it for a self-defensive manuever. 

Unknown to the leader of the Jigoku no Ryuu, he wasn't the only one to notice. 

Behind an iron mask, a frown registered. 

**_Kami-sama, let me be mistaken._**

Fuuko was cursing Kai under her breath as she helped her brother up. With assistance from Kukai who had been watching the match, they helped Raiha back into the infirmary at the back of the stadium where members of the audience and participants were being given treatment. 

"Oniisan..." Fuuko sat beside her brother. "This is my fault...if I hadn't dragged you along..." she said bitterly. 

Raiha smiled assuringly at Fuuko, reaching up his good arm and sweeping aside the hair on her face. "It's just a minor wound. I'll be okay. Don't blame yourself." 

Fuuko smiled to appease her brother, but deep inside guilt gnawed at her. If only she hadn't gone to spy on Uruha Kurenai this would've never happened. The pang of guilt even got worse when a physician attending them frowned upon seeing the wound. 

He did a few tests before instructing a younger doctor to stitch up and bandage the damaged arm. 

"It's not that serious an injury." he informed Fuuko, much to the fuujin-wielder's relief. "One of his muscles was hurt, but it would heal by itself. Unfortunately," Fuuko braced upon hearing the word. "The particle grazed his nerve. Luckily it wasn't transected, but it's swollen." 

"Which would mean..." 

"The swelling will go down in a day or two. Not immediately." the doctor said. "He's going to feel numb and will be hardly able to move it. I suggest he give it a rest. No fighting for him in the meantime." 

"That's not possible!" Raiha objected, having overheard the conversation. "I have to fight. I have matches!!! I have a battle in less than an hour." 

"Not now." the doctor insisted. "Unless you want to be an invalid the rest of your life. I'll check on it tomorrow and see what we can do." and with that he took leave of the siblings. 

The expression on Raiha's face was indignant. On Fuuko's it was repentant. She turned towards her oniisan, tearful. 

"Gomen nasai, niisan." she apologized. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so nosy...you..." 

She was quieted by Raiha's index finger on her lip. "Hush now, imouto-san." he reassured. "Nobody wanted this to happen. It's not your fault. No one is to blame." 

A sudden thought entered Fuuko's head. A flash of anger appeared on her features. "Hah! I bet that Miki had all to do with this. She was the one who lured us there! The Uruha Jyushinshuu probably planted us there so we'd get hurt before our match and lose to Uruha Ma!" 

Raiha shook his head. "Don't be too harsh judging the Uruha, Fuuko." he said. "After all, the attack didn't come from them. It came from Kai of the Jigouku no Ryuu." The purple-haired Hokage grew silent. He couldn't think of a reason why Kai would attack them. After all, they'd grown pretty amicable when they first met some days back. "Come to think of it, you should be thanking the Uruha." 

Fuuko's eyes widened. She eyed her brother incredulously. "Thank them, why?" 

"Desumasuku deflected the icicles." he explained. "If he hadn't twisted his sword the way he did, they would've pierced straight through us and the injuries would have been worse. It could've disabled you...and me, permanently." 

The fuujin-wielder grew silent, as her sibling. To say that they were oddly puzzled with the previous events was an understatement.   
******* 

"Keep still Fuuko-chan." Yanagi said as she tried to concentrate on the wounds on the fuujin-wielder's back. 

"I can't." she squirmed, wincing at the pain. "It goddamn hurts." 

Reeca's hime sighed as she sat back on her heels. The lashes on Fuuko's back were difficult to heal, particularly because they were burns combined with lacerations. She had grimaced when she had first seen how severe they were. It didn't help either that she had tended to Raiha first, then Koganei, then Recca and Domon. Fuuko had been the last to receive treatment on her own insistence. She had felt guilty for her brother's disability and his lack of fitness to fight and had refused to be healed until her brother was okay. Despite protests from the rest of her teammates, she had taken on Gashakura, which was supposedly Raiha's opponent and had received this harsh beating. 

"You look tired." Fuuko noted. She put on an oversized white t-shirt to keep the fabric from rubbing against the remainder of the wounds that Yanagi haven't touched as yet. "Take a rest. We'll continue the treatment tomorrow morning." 

"Fuuko-chan..." 

"No buts." she said firmly. She stood up and exited the bedroom they shared and went outside. 

Nightfall was starting. The moon just began to rise and the sun with its last shades of purple, mauve and orange closed the day. Fuuko decided to walk to clear off her head that was presently being bombarded by a hundred confusing thoughts. 

**Who was that masked man?**

It sounded like a line from one of those old western reruns she'd seen on cable. But it was the precise question bugging her now. Who the hell was he? 

The fact that he had the same hair and the same build as Tokiya bothered her to no end. The possibility that it was Tokiya bothered her even more. How a kind person such as the man she knew could kill so ruthlessly and maim people without remorse was unthinkable. Desumasuku, although she had only witnessed him in action now, had a widespread reputation of being second only to Kurei when it came to heartlessness. She had heard that he destroyed without second thought. That he vanquished his enemies in a blink of an eye. That he scored victory over victory with a sea of blood behind him. The thought caused Fuuko to shudder. She couldn't even close to imagine that he and the Tokiya she had known were one and the same man. 

It was impossible! 

Unless he was one amazing actor.****

**No! It couldn't be! It wasn't true! It couldn't be!!!**

They just look the same! Maybe Tokiya had some identical twin he got separated at birth from! Or Tokiya's father had an illicit affair sometime in his day and had a lovechild. Maybe they just happened to have the same hair...dangit! 

The subject of her thoughts appeared in front of her so suddenly Fuuko had to bite her lip to keep from exclaiming in surprise. 

"I hope I didn't scare you." he smiled sideways, his usual one that sent a thousand girls swooning. 

"Almost." she managed to smile back. 

"You were lost in your thoughts." he observed, taking his place beside her. "It isn't another man now, is it?' 

It was her turn to cast a sidesmile. "Does it matter? What if I say it is?" 

"It does matter. I'm quite the jealous type." 

She felt a momentary cease in her heartbeat at his words. And though her more sensible side reminded her that he was only being a tease, she can't help that little somersault her insides were doing at his words. 

Drat...if only I can be sure... 

"Care to walk with me?" he asked. 

She nodded. 

*******   
As they strolled together and talked, Fuuko found it harder to believe that Tokiya and Desumasuku were one and the same man. The impression that Tokiya gave her was anything but that of a bloodthirsty, coldhearted assassin. He had his moments of putting up that stony expression of his, but for the most part, he'd let his guard down. He voiced out his cynical opinions of the world but they were nothing short of a practical man's view. Nothing about him struck her as odd or evil or anything that would point out that he was heartless. 

He had bought her a cappucino when they passed by the hotel's cafe and got one for himself as well. They were sipping it in silence sitting under a huge tree on the grounds when Fuuko spoke up. 

"Why do you do this?" 

Tokiya looked up from the cup he was drinking from. "Why do I do what?" 

"This..." Fuuko shrugged. "Oh...you know what I mean. Why do ask me to go walk with you or talk to me? You know...all that stuff." 

He looked at her intently, pausing before giving her an answer. "Am I required to answer that?" 

"Well, yeah." she said. 

He crushed his empty paper cup and made for a basket in a nearby trashcan. "Honestly? I haven't the slightest idea." 

The question in Fuuko's eyes did not abate, however, and as the silver-haired assassin ventured into their depths, he knew she wouldn't be satisfied until she got any kind of definite answer from him. 

Hell, he'd do anything to get an answer from himself too. 

He withdrew his glance from hers, before he could drown into her eyes again. "I guess its because you fascinate me." 

She had just happened to take a sip of her drink and his reply sent her choking. "Fascina...*coughcoughcough* ting? Who? Me?" she was tempted to laugh but the look on his face was anything but funny. "You've got the wrong girl here, mister." 

An amused grin found its way to his lips. "You should stop being insecure about yourself, Fuuko-san. It doesn't suit you." He turned away and shifted his attention to the evening sky. "You do fascinate me, you know? You and your fiery personality." 

"I take it that that is a compliment?" she inquired, her brows raised. 

"Believe me, it is." his mouth drawn into a smile again. Inside himself he was just as amused. He always found himself in such a state every time he would talk to her. And it felt good. Really good. She brought out a somewhat happier side of him onto the surface. 

He liked it. He liked her. 

"It's your fire. The fire in you that seems to glow, so alive. Your love of life. Joie di vivre. You look at the world through rose-colored glasses, Fuuko-san. I admire that. You're so vibrant...happy...I really cant put a word to it." he explained. "You value life so much...living as if there's no tomorrow. And you respect that life with regards to others too, like with Fujimaru...allowing him to exist even if he treated you with such cruelty." A flicker of anger momentarily distracted him at the mention of the dishonorable member of the Kuu, then he continued. "When I see you or talk to you, you infect me with that fire you know. You're contagious." he laughed a little as he realized he spoke the truth. Hell, that was the silliest line he's ever delivered to a girl, but it's the sincerest one too. He had flattered many a woman with amorous lines of praising their clothes, their figure, their perfume...and here he was telling the girl he liked that he found her bouyant personality attractive. 

How odd. Excessively unusual. Different. 

But it was the real him who spoke now. He had said all of that in spontaneity. For the first time it was too. Not a rehearsed litany of flattery. No lies here whatsoever. It was nothing but the plain, simple truth. 

He had lied so very often that when the real thing came it struck one as something inexplicably foreign. He's told women countless times that he would be drawn by their physical aesthetics or their charm or their wit. It was only in this time and situation that he told anyone he was smitten by her "contagious fiery personality." 

He heard her laugh, that infectious tinkle of laughter that made him want to join in with its joyful resonance. And join in he did.   
  
"Was that supposed to be a good thing?" she asked in between bouts of laughter. 

He ceased, although the amusement still lingered in his eyes. "Do you doubt it?" he asked. 

"No. It just strikes me as strange." she shrugged. "Okay, maybe not too strange but I suppose I'm not an expert when it comes to receiving compliments. I don't get them quite often you know." 

"Don't be silly." he reprimanded. 

Fuuko stilled when she felt his warm hand on her cheek. She felt the color creep up to them. She felt her mouth go dry as his gaze, now serious, met up with hers. He had that look in his eyes that told her something she didn't think she was quite ready for. 

Ofcourse she could be gravely mistaken. 

Both of his hands cupped her face now. 

She flushed crimson all the way to her toes. 

"Believe me." he spoke huskily. "When I tell you that I find you attractive...that I do like you...that I enjoy spending time with you...that you pull me as no other person has...that you're like a burning flame and I am the moth who is hypnotized by you...drawn by you..." 

And before she could utter a single word of objection, Tokiya drew her into his arms and closed his mouth over hers. She gasped as his lips first came into contact with hers, causing her mouth to part slightly. Nothing in her sixteen years of existence has ever prepared her for such a devastating assault of her senses. She felt a tingle that started from her lips, running a slow, sensual course throughout her body. She couldn't pinpoint exactly how or when it started, but she could feel it, giving her a goosebump here and a pricking sensation there, tickling her toes and flooding her head with a sense of surrealism she's never experienced. 

**_Kami-sama...._**

Subconsciously their bodies drew closer, with Tokiya drawing her to him, his arms encircling her pliant body. Her inexperience of anything even close to this sudden attack rendered her defenseless, as she allowed herself to be pulled further into a vortex of uncharted territories. And she felt herself lost...lost in him, in his kiss, in his embrace...as she had never before. 

"Agape mou..." he whispered in between breaths. "Mon amour...mo miann..." 

"W-what...are...you..." she asked, unfamiliar with the terms of endearment he murmured in her ear. "Anou...wait...I..." 

He gently pulled away when he felt her flinch, accompanied by a short gasp of pain. "Gomen nasai...did I hurt you Fuuko-san?" 

Fuuko nodded as she bit her lip. In the midst of passion, he had pulled her close, enveloped her in his strong arms and had pressed her against him...nearly crushing her...and compressing the unhealed wounds on her back. She tried not to cry out in pain but she could only hold on for so long..."I have uhm, wounds from my battle a while ago and they're not fully healed yet." she mumbled. 

"From the electric fence..." he spoke grimly as he released her, careful not to touch her back. "Mori-sama has gone overboard with this absurd set-up." 

The fuujin-wielder looked up at him with probing eyes. "You were watching?" she asked. 

"Yes." 

"Too bad I didn't see you." she said, as her brain began to go down from the heavenly perch it was on a while back. "I would've introduced you to my friends and my niisan." 

"I was watching from the monitors outside the arena." he said. "Gashakura is lucky I wasn't there. If I had been he'd be a helluva lot worse than he is already..." he paused to brush aside an aberrant strand of hair from her face. "I never want to see anyone hurt you." 

And for moment, just for a flash of several seconds, Fuuko saw an expression she had seen only once on the fair features of the man before her. A look she had witnessed before, but wished she didn't have to again, as it struck a chord of uneasiness within her. A look of pure hatred...supressed anger...burning in his eyes like a raging fire. A fire that threatened to consume anyone who would dare provoke its wrath. She had seen it first when he had mentioned about his sister's murder and his thirst for revenge. Now she sees it again. 

This was the other side of the Tokiya she knew. The side of him who cared so much for the one he loved that he'd gladly break the rules of man to defend them. That part of him that can be provoked by hurting the ones he cared most about, thus triggering a facet of his personality that laid hidden beneath the calm surface. A rather disturbing side of him that she didn't think was the least bit plausible. 

Suddenly it came crashing down on Fuuko that the probability of Desumasuku and Tokiya being one and the same was no longer impossible. 

His voice interrupted the appalling thoughts presently bombarding her brain. "Fuuko-san?" 

"Yes...Tokiya-san?" 

The fire in his eyes had seemingly died down, replaced by the gentle look that she was accustomed to. "I'm sorry for hurting you...your back I mean. I hadn't realized they haven't been healed yet. I thought Yanagi-san had cured you totally." 

**No.**

"You know Yanagi?" she blurted out. 

Tokiya's gaze narrowed. "Who doesn't? She comes with you Hokages to the arena all the time." 

**No way.**

"It's not that..." she said, as panic began to form in her head. "How did you know Yanagi could heal?" 

"It's common knowledge." he shrugged. "That's why she became your team's wager in the tournament, is it not? Mori Kouran wants her for her healing powers." 

**Say it aint so.**

But she was shaking her head in disbelief now. Yanagi's healing prowess was not common knowledge. To a select few, it was. And the fact that Mori Kouran wanted her for that reason was...Fuuko's eyes shifted to the left sleeve of Tokiya's shirt. In their shared moment of passion, she had remembered running her hand on his left arm and had felt something bulky beneath the fabric. She had not paid much attention to it at the time as she was too caught up in the rapturous moment. Now, as she took in his general appearance, she had noticed that the sleeves of his shirt were not symmetrical, that on close inspection the left side was bulkier than the right. It wasn't particularly obvious and thus she had not seen it at first. But having felt it and now having observed it, she knew it was different. 

"Fuuko what are you..." 

Before the ensui master could utter another word, Fuuko had sprung at him, targetting in particular his left arm. Using the gimlets she often carried in her pocket, she tore at the sleeve of his shirt. She had done it so quickly the silver-haired assassin could do little do avoid it thus narrowly escaping a cut. Not much could have been said of his clothing that tattered to where she had set her attack. 

Fuuko held back an utterance of shock as she stared disbelievingly at the exposed arm of the man who had held her heart. The bandage beneath the shirt had been ripped off by her sharp weapon, exposing three irregular cuts now neatly stitched with surgical sutures. But the mark on them was unmistakable. Indented on his skin were the shapes of the objects that had hurt him and had caused the cuts. 

The mark of icicles. 

A tear fell down her cheek. 

"It was you."   
*******   
_Author's rants for the chapter:___

_Again, I apologize for taking a while to put this up. I got stuck somewhere in the storyline. Writer's block. You know. And believe me when I say love scenes are the *most difficult* to write. Particularly because you want your reader to get caught up in the moment without sounding too mushy. I don't know if you could call this mush, albeit I am the self-professed queen of it. The other day I was tempted by the idea of inserting a bit of lime, but as you can see I scrapped that thought and cut the lovey-dovey scene short (after all, I don't want this to take *forever*). Anyhow, before you ask me what was up between the Kurei-Neon-Kai entanglement, it would be explained in the next chapter. Actually, it is a bit explained in this one, if you read between the lines. The thoughts in bold are Fuuko's, the italicized ones are Tokiya's and if its bold and italicized, it goes for both of them, save for one. Gawd I know I have totally messed up the original Rekka no Honoo storyline, but you will forgive me ne? ^_^;;; Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated...and to the wonderful reviewers...Domo arigatou! I'd never have the will to go on without you people. Thank you, thank you, thank you.___

**_"Love arrives when you least expect it. It has an endearing way of slapping you on the back, grabbing you by the arm , swinging you round and kissing you full on the mouth. When this happens, you leap right into it."_** **_Ana Veciana-Suarez, from "Second Time Around", Reader's Digest Dec. 2001_**   



	7. Shattered Souls

HEAVEN AWAITS   
Chapter 6   
Shattered Souls   
by Fuuko no Miko

Raiha looked up from the warm sakura tea he was sipping when the man opposite him spoke. 

"I hope you understand." he spoke in apologetic tones. "It was never purely intentional. But having my dear family at their mercy left me with no choice." 

"I hold no grudges against you, Kai-san." Raiha said sincerely. He moved his bandaged arm about. "Other than the occasional tingling sensation, I'm doing just fine." he winked. "Helps to have a healer in the group. Yanagi is such an asset." 

Kai nodded as he put his teacup down. "Good for you." he leaned back, a grim expression evident on his face. "I just wish i could be sure of my family's safety. I haven't heard any word from home as yet. I'd been itching to get home, but they wouldn't allow me until the tournament is over." 

"Any idea what Neon was up to?" Raiha asked. "At first I thought she wanted us maimed to weaken us for the up-and-coming semi-finals match. But when you told me she wanted to make sure Desumasuku and Kurei-san saw it, I began to have...other thoughts." 

The other man eyed the purple-haired Hokage. "I began to wonder myself." he then leaned forward, lowering his voice down to a near-whisper and said, "I have heard rumors that Kurei-san is beginning to have doubts on Desumasuku's loyalties." 

Raiha's brow raised. "Why so? I thought he was Kurei-san's right-hand man and most trusted ally." 

"He is." Kai affirmed. "Word among the other Uruha has it that Desumasuku was making beautiful music with a girl from one of the opposing teams. It wouldn't have really mattered, but they said it did when she was found out to be a Hokage. They say he's been filtering information about the Uruha to this girl in the Hokage, secrets and all." 

The ninja shook his head. "Well if she did get any secrets, she certainly hasn't told me." 

Jigoku no Ryuu's leader shrugged. "That's what's going around anyway." he looked Raiha in the eye. "If you were Kurei-san, and the loyalty of one of your men is in question, short of confronting him...for which he would probably deny it all anyway if it were true...what do you do?" 

Raiha's reply was instant. "Get to the girl. Perhaps she would be a weaker link....someone more susceptible." 

"Which was, what I think, how they approached the problem." Kai said. "They probably couldn't get anything out of Desumasuku, so they tried attacking the girl. And...if he were to defend her in any way, then they could confirm that there was something going on between them." he took a sip of his tea before continuing. "There are only three women in the Hokage. Yanagi-san. Kagero-san and your sister. I was told to assault your sister...." 

The color began to drain from Raiha's face. He had his suspicions but as the truth began to unfold before him, the shock of finding out did not have any less of an impact. 

"Tell me, Raiha-san." Kai spoke up after a very uncomfortable silence. "Have you seen Desumasuku without his mask?" 

The younger man shook his head. 

"I have, albeit accidentally." he said. "After you have left the arena this morning, during the match, I delivered a blow to his head with my sword. But he had evaded it and it had hit his iron mask instead. A portion of it cracked and it fell to the ground. For about two seconds I was able to look at him. But he was quick and had rammed into me before the audience could see what he looked like. By then, Mikoto had thrown him a spare." Kai laughed then. "Beats me why he wanted to wear one in the first place. He's sinfully good-looking, as my wife would probably put it. Literally a pretty boy. Kinda like you. Blue eyes, clear skin, hell if he weren't flatchested, I'd take him for a girl." 

*******   
"It was you." Fuuko accused, her voice near-cracking at the words spewing out her mouth. "Desumasuku. Mask of Death. Of the Uruha Jyushinshuu." 

Tokiya stood planted at where they had just a minute ago shared seat. The expression on his face frozen. Unreadable. Incomprehendable. 

His lack of a visible reaction seemed to infuriate the fuujin-wielder as she walked up to him and grabbed the collars of his shirt. "Tell me the truth. It was you wasn't it? In the arena, this morning." she spewed angrily. "You are he...second-in-command to Kurei, one of the ten. The man in the iron mask." 

And though her voice rose to an angry pitch, the look in her eyes was anything but. This he noticed as he looked through them. They weren't demanding for an explanation, just seemingly pleading for him to deny her accusations. As if silently asking him to tell her she was wrong. 

Even if she obviously wasn't. 

Fuuko waited. Waited for him to laugh off her demand, tell her she must be dreaming, or that she had too much caffeine. That she was crazy and that in no way, shape or form would he ever be part of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. 

**Kami-sama let him tell me so.**

"Fuuko-san," he began as his crystalline stare dramatically shifted into one as hard as the mask he had perpetually worn to battle. "It is true. I, Tokiya Mikagami am of the Uruha Jyushinshuu." 

The color had gone off her flushed cheeks as she gasped, abruptly releasing him from her angry clutches. Tokiya remained unmoving as Fuuko backed away, not accepting what she was hearing. 

"Why?" she said finally when she had mentally recovered from the assault his admission had sent her. "Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" 

An expression, sinister and awfully unfamiliar, registered on his features. "Lie, cheat, seduce, betray people, all for money and power. And when people can no longer be used, destroy them**_._**" he stated. "That is how we Uruha live by. You are Hokage. I am Uruha. Why else do you think I would want to associate with you?" 

When she shot him a puzzled look, he explained. "I lied, cheated and seduced you...and now that you have fallen so deeply into my spell, is the time for me to betray you." A smirk appeared on his lips. "Seriously now, do you think I would fall for the likes of you? You must be dreaming..." he laughed derisively. "As I said, now I betray you." he approached her, tilting her chin so she could look up at him eye to eye. "How does a fighter like yourself face someone on the opposing corner when she is so smitten by him?" he asked, a brow raising. "Having you fall for my irresistible charms guarantees me a victory in the final round. Of course, make that two victories...for your demise will definitely put a large dent in your oniisan's armor, don't you think?" his eyes narrowed. "Your lovely friend Yanagi-san is a sureball prize for the Uruha, and your emotional weakness is one of the reasons why it'll happen." 

He almost reeled back when her palm connected with his face. Pretending that it didn't sting, he stood tall and unaffected. Fuuko was fuming with anger. 

"You...you...pathetic lowlife!" she screamed, purple with rage. "You used me!!! You are the scum of the earth! You...you..you..." frustrated, tears began running down her cheeks. "I'll get you, you a$$h@le! I'm going to get you. You'll be real freaking sorry you did this to me!" and she shoved him with all her strength, knocking him unto the ground before slapping him a second time. Breathing hard and wiping the tears with the back of her hand, Fuuko stormed away. 

He tasted the blood in his mouth and he deftly wiped it with his thumb. He stood up and dusted his clothes. Tempted as he was, he didn't look where she had headed off to nor attemped to follow her. Instead, his eyes darted to a dark corner of the forest where three pairs of eyes were watching him. 

"Kurei-sama." 

The master of the blue flame stepped out of the shadows followed by the feminine figures of Neon and Aki. Despite the fact he had his mask on, Tokiya could tell that his superior was smiling. 

"She packs a wallop, don't you think?" Tokiya laughed as he wiped more blood from his mouth. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." 

"Indeed." Kurei agreed. "I'd whip your ass too if you told me something like that." 

The two women behind Kurei had their eyes wide with disbelief at what transpired. Both of them were utterly convinced that what was going on between the two was real and not some elaborate ploy to weaken the Hokage's defenses. Apparently they were mistaken. 

As though reading their minds, Tokiya approached Aki, tilting her face and pulling her close to him, his breath a few inches from her cheek. "You honestly didn't think I was attracted to that lesbian, do you Aki-san?" 

Aki felt her heart palpitate at his nearness. She could smell the remnants of his musky cologne. "Of course not. I was certain you had better taste than that." 

"Enough of that mushy talk." Kurei interrupted, much to Aki's disappointment. "I have things to do." he irritatedly stressed, making them take leave of the premises. 

Kurei eyed Neon who walked beside him when they began their trek back to the Uruha mansion. "Your accusations are unfounded." he told her. "I will hear no more of your badmouthing my righthandman." 

"K-Kurei-sama..." 

"No more." 

If Tokiya had convinced Kurei and Aki, he sure as didn't ease up Neon's suspicions. The red-haired Uruha was still skeptical about what had occured previously. She could be wrong of course, as she knew Tokiya was capable of acts much more despicable than what he had claimed to have done to the Hokage girl. But something was amiss. She had nothing to rely on other than her feminine instinct, and until she can find solid proof that Tokiya was doing something on the contrary, she would have to keep her mouth shut. 

The ensui-wielder was glad to finally be alone when he had locked his door. He took a position by the window, his hands grasping the ledge so firmly his knuckles turned white. 

They almost got caught. 

He would have to thank Meguri-sensei for teaching him to sharpen his senses. It was that that allowed him to feel the presence of Kurei, Neon and Aki a few minutes back. They had arrived just at the moment Fuuko had shredded the sleeve of his outfit. Good for it too. Had they arrived several minutes earlier he would've not been able to conceal his true intentions with the Hokage girl. It would've been harder to defend his position. 

Kurei could've killed her. 

A tear fell down his cheek as he tried to shun the thought that he almost lost her. 

That morning, after winning the semi-final round against the Jigoku no Ryuu which Mikagami's much-contested victory over Kai helped seal, the ensui wielder took a detour from his usual route of going to the private clinic to have his wounds tended to. Instead he had first followed the losing team to their private sanctuary to spy on Kai, looking for any link the latter's madougu had to his sensei Meguri Kyoza or to his sister's murder. After ten minutes of discovering nothing, he had gone back the Uruha mansion and as he passed by the main viewing room, he heard the familiar voices of his superior and Neon talking. 

They spoke in low tones but his training in listening to such aided him to comprehend their conversation. 

"I'm sure you saw what he did, Kurei-sama." Neon stressed. "If Mikagami didn't deflect those wayward icicles I had instructed Kai to throw the Hokage's way, they'd be permanently disabled by now." 

"The point being..." Kurei said. 

"He doesn't want any harm to come to them!" the flute-playing Uruha said. "I tell you, Tokiya Mikagami actually cares for the Hokage! He is in liaisons with them." 

"I won't have you throwing accusations about my faithful assassin." the blue flamecaster firmly reasoned. "Perhaps the only reason he wanted them unharmed is because he doesn't wish to fight half-baked opponents in the next round. And besides, if they have been harmed it would seem a ploy for us to make them disadvantaged for the next bout." Kurei leaned back, his eyes boring sharply at Neon. "We may be Uruha, but when we fight, we fight with honor. I will not have any more stupid plots like this to destroy our reputation." 

"But Kurei-sama..." 

"No buts." 

"Aki has seen him making out with that tomboy Kirisawa!!!" 

"I'm pretty sure he has his reasons for the things he does." Kurei dismissed with a hand. "And when it comes to Mikagami, your lovely imoutosan is excessively paranoid. Any other girl he talks to gives her an impression that he is making out." 

"Kurei-sama take heed of me..." 

"Are you ordering me to follow you, Neon?" Kurei's voice rose. 

The next sound Mikagami heard was a strong thud. No three guesses on what Kurei had done to the red-haired assassin. Tokiya left, the echoes of a woman's sobs the last thing registering on his ears. So Neon had squealed to the Uruha head. He could kick himself for being careless, letting Aki see his show of affection for the Hokage girl, but sometimes he could not help it. Could not control himself. Couldn't dictate to his subconscious that he should be more discreet than he already was. Not that he wasn't careful. He usually made sure no one would follow him when he went to see Fuuko. But sometimes even the smart could be outsmarted by the persistent, and Aki always seemed to find a way to hunt him down. 

For all the denial Kurei had done, Tokiya knew it wasn't all peachy now. Deep in those tones, he could tell that Kurei **_did suspect_** something, he just wasn't going to let on about it. 

It was a rule in the Uruha that an assassin had no right to go soft on his enemy. 

It remained an unyielding rule for as long as he could remember. 

Those who showed the least bit of sympathy for such were taught a lesson. 

Just as they had done to Kurenai-sama. 

He knew that if Kurei found out about his true feelings for Kirisawa Fuuko, he would have her destroyed. 

Right before his very eyes. 

And he had pretended to be playing with her emotions just to save her from Kurei's definitive wrath a while ago. Fuuko was strong, but she was without her fuujin and even so, she was no match for the head of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. He had no choice but to lie to her to save her from certain death. 

But in the end he had to sacrfice his heart, wounded as it was with her words of hatred. How he could amend it to her puzzled him to no end. He had to have himself hurt to prevent her from being so. 

He didn't want to lose her. Not now, Not ever. He had admitted as much to himself that once he had found happiness again he would never let it go. 

There has to be some way. 

But what? 

A cry of agony tore through the night, like the caterwauling of a wounded wolf on the verge of a slow, most painful death. 

Sometimes it was easier to die bodily than to suffer a broken spirit. 

"Damn him....damn him...oni no tsume!!!!" the fuujin-wielder cried angrily as she released the demon wind claws flying through the expanse of forest, slicing through thick branches and wreaking havoc throughout its path. They returned, snapping violently back in place at the fuujin-wielder's command. Fuuko was breathing hard, seething with anger as she kicked the fallen twigs on the grassy floor. She had been venting her spleen for the past half-hour at every inanimate object that had the misfortunate to be in her path, sparing nothing that came her way. 

And though her friends had longed to comfort her (even if they hadn't a clue to what she was furious about), they knew that a very upset Fuuko was something they shouldn't dare approach with a ten-foot pole. 

Except maybe... 

"Imouto-san..." 

She did not turn around despite recognition of the voice. She kept still attempting to catch her breath as the owner of the voice cautiously came closer. She held on a breath as he touched her shoulders, making her turn about to face him. 

The tear-stained face and the eyes so filled with pain seemingly broke his heart. He managed a small smile and drew her in his arms, saying nothing and comforting her with his brotherly embrace. 

"H-he betrayed me." she croaked in a voice stained with a mixture of rage and agony. 

"Imouto-san...." 

"H-he, he made me like him only because, because he wanted me to soften so...so when we get to the battle in the end, he-he would win be-because I couldn't fight him...." she managed to sputter. The anger in her more evident than the hurt. 

"Shhhh...." Raiha hushed as he held on to her tightly. He caressed her head. "Do...you believe all that he said?" 

"At first I didn't," she continued in between sobs. "I didn't want to believe because everything was, was...was so good you know? I thought he really liked me, for all that I was and he accepted all those things I wasn't but...then..." she paused to wipe more tears with the back of her hand, "When I confronted him, and I looked into his eyes, he told me without blinking that he was just fooling around with me." she gnashed her teeth. "H-he said that my weakness for him will be his victory, that he is going to get Yanagi for Kurei and...and...it'll be all my fault." 

And as Tokiya's last sentence replayed in her head repeatedly, the tide of anger flushed in Fuuko's face, making her break from her oniisan's comforting hold and rush towards the nearest tree. With an agonized cry she smashed her fist against the tree's massive trunk, barely denting it but wounding her knuckles in the process. She ignored the fact that it was bleeding and she sunken on her knees, the thoughts of hatred clouding everything else that was in her head. 

She stared blankly at the blood that flowed freely on her wounded fist. It's violent color matching the train of thought running presently inside her head. 

"I swear..." she spoke in hushed tones. "Over my dead body, will I allow you triumph Tokiya Mikagami of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. I will defend Yanagi and the honor the Hokage to the very last of my breath." A glint of determination appeared in the depths of her eyes. "I swear...I will defeat you...and break you...if its the last thing I do." 

And with that oath she buried the demon claws of her fuujin in the depth of the trunk of the tree before her. 

Her agony didn't last long if her external appearance was anything to go by. For the cheerful, fun-loving Fuuko resurfaced as early as the following morning, teasing Rekka and Yanagi until they were red to the roots of her hair. Even Domon and Koganei were surprised at her turnaround. Only her oniisan, who knew her well more than anyone, realized that it was all for show. That deep inside she was hurting, and hurting bad. But her pride had gotten over her more than anything and Raiha knew he wasn't going to be the one to burst her bubble no matter how superficial it was. 

The days went on. 

If Tokiya Mikagami had been a recluse then, he was more of a hermit now. He spoke little if any, merely answering with a nod or a shake of the head unless it was absolutely necessary for him to talk. He had turned his attention to sword practice, often enclosing himself in the underground chambers of the Uruha mansion and ensconcing himself with the techniques of his madougu, modifying a move here and a style there. Kurei, in his preoccupation with defeating his half-brother and the rest of the Uruha Kurenai engaging in the own private affairs paid little heed to the sullen affect of their best sword-wielder. Only Aki paid him her undivided attention but he was as cold to her as he had been before. Or worse. 

_I want to see you._

_I want to be with you._

_Hold you in my arms and tell you the truth._

_But you despise me. I can feel your animosity, even if I could not see your face. I can sense your anger, your hatred. But should our cover be blown, they will be out for your blood, as I am not allowed to feel for you even a fraction of what I feel now._

_I never wanted it to be this way. Never. I don't want your fury to be upon me._

_It breaks me._

_However, I know it would crush me more if they would do anything to hurt you._

_Kami-sama, why did it have to end like this?_

With the inner turmoil brewing within him, he threw his ensui with full force, burying it in one of the sackcloth dummies propped up against the wall. It took a while before he walked over to retrieve his madougu, and he stopped midstride before a broken mirror to cast a glance over its shattered reflection. 

Crystalline eyes drowning in sorrow looked back at him, and he glared at them in return. Had he not been distracted by his thoughts he would've noticed that the reflection looking back at him was not his own. 

It was that of a girl. 

A beautiful 18-year old girl who had once donned the signature cloth of the extinct Hokage Clan and had carried the ensui proudly in the name of the Mikagamis. A tortured soul who had been laying in unrest since the day her life had prematurely ended, making her unable to express that particular affection to one who had loved her for so long whom she had all but ignored in return. 

She had come back to tell him. 

To be with him. 

To confess, to declare, that all he had offered her was returned in full. 

To feel that wonderful sensation of emotional bliss as they would come together to be united in heart and soul. 

How she had longed for this moment to come. 

But it was seemingly all for naught. 

He had been waiting too. 

Four hundred years of longing seemed more than an eternity. He had returned in this lifetime to find her. 

For the love that has burned ever so brightly in his heart had not abated, not now, not ever. 

He would move heaven and earth to know.... 

If she loved him too. 

For heaven waits for this to come. Awaits for them to be one. 

But the circumstances now seemingly are insurmountable odds. 

For theirs was a love that bordered on the impossible. 

As the present situation dictates. 

For as Mizumi's heart, belonging in this lifetime to the one called Tokiya burns with an all-consuming passion. 

Yukaze's own, now Fuuko's, was filled with a fury that threatened to extinguish all that they had beautifully shared. 

Murphy's law dictates that if anything can go wrong, it definitely will. 

For more fuel adds to the fire. 

The day before the finals, Fuuko ventured out to the woods to practice. She had gone first to her usual spot, beneath the tree where she had first experienced the wonderful throes of a first kiss. It was nothing but a memory now, as she had tried suppressing her feelings of elation with that of pure disgust at the thoughts of his treachery. But she had soon tired of the location and for a change wandered off further to the depths of the forest where the sound of a familiar voice beckoned to her. 

"I want to appease her pain, yet I know not how." 

At first she had thought her oniisan was speaking to someone, but when she risked a look she saw he was talking to his reflection of the clear brook before him. 

"I know my imouto-san loves him, and deny it as I may, I know he returns her feelings." 

**You couldn't be all the more wrong, oniisan**, her mind spoke. **He is as false as they come**. 

"I don't know why he said what he said and did what he did. I am certain he has his reasons." he told his reflection as he took seat on that all-too-familiar rock. He shrugged. "But then, maybe it is for the best. I wouldn't know how they would react if they ever found out..." 

Fuuko gasped as she saw what her oniisan pulled out from under the collar of his shirt. 

The other half. 

The incirminating half of the necklace that told her and Tokiya, if he ever knew, who had taken the life of his beloved oneechan. 

**No.**

**It was....**

**Her brother....**

She tried not to scream in a mixture of shock and dismay at her discovery. The gravity of what she had learned came crashing down on her like an avalanche. So sudden and so severe had the impact been that all she had recalled after was that she had gone as fast and as light as she could. Running far and away, in a speed that defied all possible laws of nature until she collapsed in exhaustion somewhere along the tournament grounds. 

**Niisan...he killed...he killed...Mifuyu...Tokiya's sister...it was my...brother...**

**Nooo, it's not possible. Her kind, loving, oniisan...he wouldn't hurt a fly...much less kill another human being...he wouldn't...he would never even think about doing such an act...not her niisan, never her niisan....**

She must be having a nightmare. 

**Kami-sama, wake me up now.**

**Please.**

But she was awake, wide awake and face-to-face with a horror so real it all seemed anything but. Denial was a poweful tool but it did nothing to help her now. 

It was the worst day of her life. 

But then there was tomorrow to come. 

**My brother killed the sister of the man I loved.**

**He was the reason of all his pain.**

**As Tokiya is all the reason for mine.**

She didn't know how she managed to sleep that night, but she did after countless hours of tossing and turning about in her bed. She had been so agitated Yanagi had to remind her of the finals the following day for her to cease twisting around. Her mind must have been numb with all the events that had happened as for some odd reason they did not pervade her dreams as they have in the previous nights. When she woke up, she felt none of the anger or the shock over what had transpired the past few days. Fuuko Kirisawa's emotional roller coaster had seemingly come to a halt atop an upramp. The question now was whether it was going over it or if it would fall back to a downslide. 

"I now declare...the third Ura Butou Satsujin, final round begins!!" 

A roar of cheer and applause drowned the Arena as Tatsuko the referee opened the ceremonies of the most anticipated bout of the Tournament of Death. She nodded as she waited for the noise to abate and directed to the North gate where the light focused on the entrance. 

"From the North gate, the defending champions of the second Ura Butou Satsoujin...the team Uruha Kurenai!!!!" 

A thunderous ovation greeted Uruha Scarlet as they made their way to the arena, paying no heed to the cheer of the diehards nor the catcalls by antifans. They marched proudly, apathetically, taking their place on one side of the arena. No reaction visible on their faces nor obvious in their moves. 

"Noroi! Joker! Mikoto! Desumasuku!" 

Whispers predominated at the visible absence of the Uruha leader. The four team members remained sullen to the obvious question of Kurei's whereabouts. Mikagami, however, had thoughts of his own as his vision was trained to the opposite corner of the arena. Beneath the mask he bit his lip as he anticipated the entry of the Hokage while Tatsuko called them. 

There she was. 

The expression on her face was blank, he had noted as she came in. For someone who was trained for years to read faces and expressions, Tokiya was at a loss. He wondered if it was due to the fact that in this particular instance his heart was involved more than anything...if the turmoil within him clouded his otherwise impeccable judgement. 

How he ached to hold her, touch her, tell her the contents of his bleeding heart. 

But he can't do that. Not now.... 

Perhaps...not ever? 

There he was. 

And though she had sworn to keep her resolve and remain unaffected, Fuuko could not help her heart wincing. He looked flawless in the black leathery wardrobe he was donning, his silver hair and mask enhancing the aesthetic appearance. The aura of magnificence he had always carried with him regardless of where he went was no less potent now as it had before. 

How she wanted to run to him, feel his reassuring arms around her and pour her heart out. 

She looked at Yanagi. 

And knew what she had wanted to do was impossible. 

For he was Tokiya Mikagami of the Uruha Jyushinshuu. And loving the enemy as she did was the worst betrayal a friend could do. 

She recanted the words he had blurted out to her not too many nights ago. 

**"Your lovely friend Yanagi-san is a sureball prize for the Uruha, and your emotional weakness is one of the reasons why it'll happen."**

She had sworn as early as she was five years old that she would never be weak. 

Never. 

With that she promised herself that she would not allow him to triumph. Fuuko allowed the fire of hatred consume her heart. 

It was the beginning of the end. 

Temporarily, her mind was rid of her personal vendetta as she cheered Domon against the walking corpse Noroi. Every now and then she stole a glance at the silver-masked man, berating herself when her heart skipped a beat as she caught him staring at her. 

**Get it over your head, Fuuko no baka!** she reminded her alter ego.** He is not interested in you. He only wants to rile you...he only wishes to get Yanagi for Kurei.**

She cheered louder. 

And as Domon's hand was raised in victory over the first of Uruha Kurenai, Fuuko's mouth tightened. She genuinely felt jubilated for her friend's win, but she was mentally preparing for her own bout. 

"Round Two..." 

"I'm taking this one." she declared to the others. She felt her oniisan's hand grasp her arm as she started to advance towards the ring. 

Blue-violet eyes met green ones. 

"Imouto-san..." 

She forced a smile to her lips and raised her hand to form a "V" sign. "I'll be alright, nii-san." she reassured in a manner that can only be described as genki. "This is virtually chicken feed." 

Knowing he couldn't convince her stubborn side anwyay, Raiha smiled in return and released her, giving her a pat on the back. "Go get 'em, little sister." 

"No sweat." 

In a move that was so sudden as it was surprising, Fuuko grabbed her oniisan by the arm and pulled the necklace concealed beneath the cloth around his neck. She dashed for the ring, clutching the half-broken jewelry and taking it with her as she made it to the battle ground. 

"Fuuko!!!" was all that came out of Raiha's mouth. He hadn't the slightest idea how she had known about the artifact and why she had done what she had just pulled off. 

"Forgive me, niisan." Fuuko called out to him. "This is something I must do..." she added in a whisper, "For the good of all of us." 

"Well whatever are you waiting for?" Tokiya heard his superior's voice behind him. Kurei had arrived on the other side of the ring after Noroi's match and had returned to his team's corner afterwards. 

The ensui master turned about. "Kurei-sama?" he wondered. 

A smirk appeared on Kurei's lipsticked mouth. "Your up next for battle, yes?" 

Tokiya did not reply. A puzzled look crossed his face but his mask prevented Kurei from seeing it. 

"Let's see...is this not the plot you have so masterfully executed these past few weeks? Get that Hokage girl to fall for you so you could easily defeat her in battle, as she would be too consumed in her affection for you?" he reminded Mikagami. "Orrrr...perhaps you hesitate because your plan has backfired?" 

His words confirmed Tokiya's suspicion that Kurei wasn't totally buying his initial story. A stoic expression replaced his questioning look, followed by a smirk on his lips. "A guaranteed victory for the Uruha Jyushinshuu is what I promised." he said. "And Mikagami Tokiya always delivers." 

The silver-haired warrior did not bother to see if Kurei had bought this and went on his way to the arena. And as he approached the impatient fuujin-wielder, he mentally steeled himself. They faced each other, looking eye to eye but not seeing in them as they denied the true emotions they felt then and there. 

_Forgive me, Fuuko-san._

_I never wanted to hurt you._

**Please tell me this isn't true.**

**I don't want to fight you.**

**_I want to be with you._****__**

**_I want us to be together._**

Using her utmost willpower, Fuuko placed a bitter smile on her lips, tilting her head in challenge and raising a brow. "I know you have perfect record Desumasuku-san." she stated. "But I have a very nasty habit of breaking winning streaks." 

He issued a throaty laughter. "My record may become broken...but neither will it be now...nor will it be done by a mere Hokage like you." 

"Your arrogance amuses me." she returned. "But I have a secret weapon." she teased. "Because I will never allow my friend Yanagi to be a prize for your Uruha...and your emotional weakness will be your downfall." 

He almost laughed at her reissue of his own words by her. But the laughter had died down when his eyes caught glimpse of the object Fuuko had held in her right hand. She raised it up to his point of vision, swinging it tauntingly before him like a pendulum. 

"Lovely isn't it?" she provoked him. 

Tokiya saw red as the memories came upon him like a cold splash of water. His initial pallor was replaced by the fiery fury that began to burn his very heart. His voice lost its arrogance and tuned down into a throaty whisper. "How did you get that...from who did you..." 

She was torn between wanting to cradle his head in her arms to comfort him and laughing in his face with ridicule. With shaky hands, she put the offending piece of jewelry around her neck, choosing to provoke him with it. "A little family heirloom of the Kirisawa clan." she faked a smile, but the voice that spoke was dead serious. "You want your sister's killer...well...what are you waiting for? Come and get me" 

It took all of his willpower not to lunge and attack her. For all the violent anger that brewed in him now, he was sitll able to hold on to his temper. "Fuuko don't do this..." he spoke tonelessly. "Tell me where you got that stupid necklace." 

She paid no heed to his request. Instead she reached up and held the faceless mask, cradling his face in her hands. "As I told you, its a family heirloom..." she said in a whisper. "Something passed on from one generation to the next." 

"Take it off. Now." 

She scoffed. "Only if you take your mask off." she shrugged. "I'm not the only one with secrets." 

It was a mistake on her part to ask him to remove his mask, Fuuko realized. For beyond the stone-cold face were the eyes of a boy who had hurt so much losing the one person he loved. Eyes whose pain bored through hers and almost knocked her off her defenses. 

Almost. 

The swooning of the females in the audience gave her a reality check as she realized that Tokiya Mikagami, with all that boyish good looks and charm of his, was as deceitful as a snake. So good was he in his acting that he had nearly conned her into falling in his spell. 

Remembering their time together and how he cleverly orchestrated it to trick her brought anger poinding in her head again. 

"Prepare to lose, Mikagami Tokiya...Desumasuku...whoever you are." Fuuko declared boldly as she summoned the powers of her fuujin. 

The face of the ensui wielder calmed down, as a lake would after a ripple. "Yours will be the only end the audience will see here, Kirisawa-san." He opened a bag of water he had carried and drew from it to form the blade of the water madougu. 

"Let the battle begin!!!!" declared the referee. 

Fuuko called upon the wind currents. 

Tokiya stuck the ensui to the ground. 

Raiha was aghast. 

Kurei was smiling. 

The battle was just starting.   
******   
Gomen nasai...as you must know I got stuck in the plot again....numerous times. Plus, my usual reason of getting real life stuck in the way. Ah yes, you do understand, no? Please? In my original idea the story is supposed to end by this chapter, but there was a bit much of the explaining to do...plus I wanted to bring out the characters' emotions into this thing, as well as develop the story better. Hopefully it'll end by the next installment. Sorry to have kept you guys waiting. Kindly read and review. Comments are much appreciated. Also, my shrine has been updated so please do visit me. It's at http://bluhdy1.tripod.com or http://destined.to/fuuko 

This story is dedicated to my friends both on the net and in real life, to the devoted visitors of The Fuuko Shrine, to the wonderful reviewers of my fics (all of them), and to my *new* inspiration...the real life Tokiya Mikagami (who isn't the original one I mentioned at the prologue, but hey, we're entitled to change our minds, ne?) 

Sentences typed in** bold** are Fuuko's thoughts, typed in _italic_ are Tokiya's thoughts, and if its **_both italicized and bold,_** it goes for the two of them. 

Flame of Rekka is copyrighted by Anzai Noboyuki-sensei and in no way, shape or form will it ever be the property of Fuuko no Miko. This is done only for purposes of entertainment and personal satisfaction. 


	8. Eternity In Your Arms

HEAVEN AWAITS   
Chapter 7   
Eternity In Your Arms   
by Fuuko no miko

It was a spectacle no one has seen. 

Desumasuku had stuck the ensui to the ground, thus employing one of his favorite moves, the Tsurara Mai. Little by little, a hundred icicles began appearing in midair, glittering dangerously like rough-cut diamonds. With a terse command he had sent them flying swiftly to the fuujin-wielder. 

Fuuko then called upon the turbulent wind blasts of the fuujin, as it raised from a small current of wind to a powerful tornado. She ordered it to surround her thus shielding her against the attack of ice. The strong gust of wind repelled the icicles, sending them flying into a thousand directions all at once. The audience ducked for cover as particles like bullets buried themselves into chairs, walls and floors. 

The fuujin-wielder stood her ground maintaining the tornado outside as more icicles bombarded her. She uttered a command to her madougu and then and there, the deflected ice particles were blown in a direction directly opposite to her. 

Tokiya swiftly ducked as his icicle attack came back at him but an unlucky piece had chosen to graze his left cheek. He winced at the trickle of blood that it drew. 

The audience roared at the sight of blood, much to Tokiya's disgust. He wiped it with the back of his hand as he stared back at Fuuko who was now enveloped by her protective tornado. 

He called for the Tsurara Mai again. 

Fuuko wondered why he summoned the same attack when it obviously was a futile one. With a verbal order, she once again repelled the flying icicles. 

What she didn't see was the batch of icicles flying overhead, zooming above her tornado and stopping suddenly directly above her. 

"Fuuko-nee-chan! Watch out!!!" 

But the purple-haired girl heard Kaoru too late as a flurry of ice entered the center of her tornado shield where there was no wind. She gasped as icicles rained on her, distracting her and breaking the currents surrounding her. In an instant, her shield collapsed. 

Supporters of Desumasuku cheered as Fuuko's protection fell down. Several particles had scratched her skin and abraded them. In an effort to save herself from the attack, she had shielded herself with her hands and had fallen on her knees. 

He remained seemingly unaffected by her minor injury. The expression on his face clouded and distant. He didn't look at her with the same concern-tinged ones he had laid upon her when he saw her bravely defend against Fujimaru. Slowly he trekked closer, like an animal stalking its would-be prey. 

He was vaguely startled when she suddenly looked up from her crouching position. Eyes that burned with fury met up with his uncaring gaze. He saw the small smudges of blood on her face caused by the ice particles he had rained upon her, staining her otherwise soft, smooth cheek. 

For an instant he had let his guard down, as a powerful desire touch her face suddenly overcame him. 

It took all his self-control to hold back. 

She saw his moment of vulnerability. 

And nearly experienced it herself. 

**_Why are we doing this?_**

**_We shouldn't be fighting._**

**_I love you._**

"Kaze no tsume." 

He barely comprehended the command she had muttered under her breath, and only a lightning-quick reflex saved him from the wind claws that suddenly made their way from her to him. He had blocked her attack with the ensui, as the blade of water struggled against the wind claws that were pushing. The current of wind powering them so strong that if he had not raised his sword quickly, he was certain they would have sliced through his neck. 

Tokiya became the recieving end of a powerful kick to the shin. 

The fans of the female Hokage warrior cheered as her opponent went reeling to the floor with the force of her kick. By this time Tokiya had dropped the ensui to the ground where it was nailed by the kaze no tsume. Fuuko took advantage of this and lunged at the sword-wielder. 

Fuuko was the faster one. 

But Tokiya had been stronger. 

She had tackled him before he could get up from the fall her kick had caused, but a quick reversal had changed their positions. Tokiya ended up on top of the fuujin-wielder, and he pinned her to the ground with his weight. His powerful arms held her own down. They were breathing hard from the physical force of it all. 

"Where..." he spoke in between breaths. "Did you get that stupid necklace?" 

"Are you deaf?" she near-screamed. "I told you." Fuuko paused to catch hers. "It belongs to my family. An heirloom." 

"I don't believe you." he snarled through his teeth. "Why are you taunting me, Kirisawa-san? This is not a funny joke." 

"Who said I was joking?" she snapped. "I had killed your sister. I had destroyed your happiness. I have caused all the pain and the suffering you went through all those years." 

"It was me." she wailed. 

"Don't lie to me!" he scolded her. His voice cracked at the painful surge of memories seeing that necklace had caused. "You could never have done it. You were just a child then...as I was. You would not have the capability to do so." 

"It was me." she insisted stubbornly. "You want your revenge and now you have the chance." 

"Don't be a fool." he angrily accused. "You're protecting someone...he who killed my neechan...you're protecting him." 

And as the words poured out of his mouth, a sudden realization hit him. He struggled to keep Fuuko down as his gaze wandered over to Team Hokage, nailing it to the tall ninja whose impassive gaze collided with his own. The questioning look met by one with challenge. 

"You." 

"Yes." 

The color drained from Fuuko's face as her niisan admitted his guilt. No! It was impossible! Her niisan would never hurt anyone or anything! He couldn't so much as kill a fly, let alone another human being. It was physically unthinkable as well. Her niisan was no older than Tokiya...and if it had been a boy who had attacked her, Mifuyu would easily have fought him off. It was simply not possible!!! 

Tokiya seemed to have read her thoughts. "You lie." he accused. "You are little older, if not the same age as I. I had seen no young man among the attackers of my sister. I would have recalled it!" 

"You know who killed my sister!" he screamed, his eyes blazing with rage. "Tell me who did it!" 

Tokiya gasped as he felt a painful stab at his left shoulder. He turned about to see the oni no tsume piercing his left bicep. Fuuko had mentally called upon her madougu and had had it attacking Tokiya from behind. The female Hokage took advantage of this situation and released herself from his hold, pushing Tokiya away. She made a dash for the ensui and much to the audience's and the combatants' surpirse, threw it upon Mikagami's feet. 

"Your fight is with me, Mikagami Tokiya." she declared. "You leave my niisan alone." 

The fire in his eyes burned brighter than before. 

"Do you have a deathwish, Kirisawan-san?" he scoffed. 

"The only funeral I'm attending is yours, Desumasuku." she retaliated as she raised her madougu, calling upon the powers of the wind god. Two powerful gusts of wind came from either side of the fuujin-wielder, travelling a swift path towards her opponent. 

Desumasuku immediately thrust his sword downward, commanding Absolute Zero, causing the ground beneath him to immediately freeze. In a blink of an eye, this area of the arena floor had turned into solid ice and with his deft skills, he sliced it forming a huge shield of ice that in the nick of time protected him as he held it against himself while the gust of wind whipped at his defensive figure. 

It was a while before the power of the wind subsided, but as he lowered the ice shield that protected him, Tokiya felt a strong force on the opposite side. Before he could properly defend himself, he saw the ice shield shatter before him into a million pieces as his opponent smashed it with her closed fist and the oni no tsume. He shielded his eyes against the miniature shards that rendered him temporarily blind. The force of the blow cause him to fall backward. 

Fuuko smiled. Her tactics had worked. She had sent the wind gusts before to distract the ensui-wielder before attacking physically. A satifactory grin was painted on her face as her wind-powered fist met its target. The shield had smashed and he was blindsided by the ice chips. She continued to attack him with kicks and punches as only a scorned warrior could deliver. 

Tokiya staggered back in defense, as he used his sword to deflect the punches thrown by the female Hokage. His quick reflexes did him well as they prevented her hits from making a significant impact. As he tried to clear the ice chips from his eyes, his sword shielded him although not too effectively. A cry of excitement echoed throughout the arena as the Uruha assassin neared the edge of the suspended stage. He had buckled down on his knees just in time to prevent a fall to the bottomless abyss. And as Fuuko prepared for the blow that would send him to his death and defeat, a cry from the excited audience stopped her attack. 

"Look! The oni no tsume!!!!" 

All eyes, including that of the purple-haired girl shifted to the weapon on her raised arm. And only then did she, as well as the rest of the audience notice that the claws of her madougu were frozen. 

"What the hell..." 

Before the deathblow was delivered, the oni no tsume cracked and disintegrated into shattered glass. 

"He is a wizard of his craft." Kai had commented on the sidelines. He turned to Raiha who was as pale as the ice on the arena. "While she swung those claws at him, he used his sword to protect himself, at the same time, applying the blade of the ensui to the oni no tsume, and effectively freezing them." he nodded with awe. "He had frozen them so severely they now crack in destruction." 

Fuuko seethed in anger as she realized what he had done. Before she could contemplate another move he had slipped away, rolling aside and moving towards the opposite side of the arena. She turned his way and proudly declared. "I aint finished yet!" 

She plucked one of the orbs around her fuujin and held it up high. "Spirit of wind, come upon and do your master's bidding!" A blinding flash of light swirled around her head, with the mouselike creature appearing upon her call. With an incredible amount of speed, she ordered the spirit to fly across the arena to finish her opponent. 

"Tsurara no Hebi!" Tokiya called in defense as the speedrolling ball of fur approached him. With that, from four corners, cold air was summoned, forming an icicle snake that met the spirit of the fuujin, head on resulting in a poweful collision in the middle of the arena. The extreme impact of the two colliding forces was enough to shake the foundation of the stage and the entire building. 

"Kaze no Kodama!!!!" a voice, recognized as Fuuko's echoed through commotion the falling debris from the ceiling and the excitement of the audience was causing. Through the unstable surroundings it was seen that Fuuko had called upon a second spirit of the wind, commanding it to attack her adversary while everyone else was still in recovery of the previous moves. 

"Mikaaagaaami!!!!" a cry was overheard amongst all others. The Uruha Kurenai turned their heads to a frantic girl in the audience, recognizing it as one of their own."Waaaaatch outttt!!!" Aki screamed in horror as the second of the kaze no kodamas cut through the falling debris and charged the silver-haired Uruha. The scream of warning died on her throat as the furball smacked right into the surprised assassin. 

"Ugh!" his cry of injury was loud enough to silence the chaos as the creaure had knocked him off his feet and smashed him flat on the arena floor. The impact was powerful enough to sink him almost a foot into the broken concrete. 

Everyone in the arena held on to their breath, as Desumasuku's body sank effortlessly on the arena's solid floor. The kaze no kodama's force buried him in a shallow grave. It remained like a tune hanging in the air as all eyes watched in awe at the sudden fall of the Uruha's most deadly assassin. 

The requiem had seemingly begun. 

Or ended. 

The audience roared. 

"He should've seen it coming." Kukkai had said in a voice loud enough to be heard among deafening cheers, as he watched the girl from the Hokage cautiously approached the non-moving assassin. "It was the same tactic she had employed in an earlier move. Fuuko had distracted him with the first of the Kaze no Kodama before quickly following it up with another one while he was busy defending himself from the former." He shook his head. "What a waste of a warrior." 

"Outsmarted by an insipid girl!" scoffed Fujimaru as he spat in the direction of the fallen Uruha. "And to think he had a stainless reputation. It is obviously unearned." he snarled as he counted in his mind the money he was going to lose in a bet in this fight. "Why, when I was fighting that harlot, I had her where I wanted her." 

Fuuko was breathing hard, her energy near-drained from the continous attack she had employed to her opponent. She took careful steps in coming towards him, should he be pretending to be unconscious. He was moving, not an inch. Seemingly not even breathing as his chest showed no expansion. 

"Did I kill him?" she muttered a curse under her breath. When she got close enough she noted that indeed there was no movement of any kind from the fallen warrior. She kneeled beside him, her pulse now racing, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her skin now clammy and pale. She could feel her heart palpitating wildly as the thought of her actually killing him formed in her head. She swallowed as she reached out a hand to his forehead. 

**He's so...cold**...she thought. She felt her throat constrict as she heard the referee beginning her count from behind her. Loud cheers came from the audience and her fellow Hokage as the match neared its end with Enna calling out the numbers loud. And while she knew she should be rejoicing for her victory Fuuko felt none of this. She knew she should be way over the moon, as she aided their team to a win. They would have two wins then, and she knew in her heart her oniisan, Recca and Koganei would be triumphant in theirs. Yanagi would be safe from the hands of that maniacal Mori Kouran and they would be declared champions of the Ura Butou Satsoujin. 

**Then why do I not feel joy in my heart?** she thought as she brushed fallen strands of hair from Tokiya's forehead. With the base of her thumb she wiped the trickle of blood from his closed mouth. **Why am I not overjoyed to see you, my foe, whom I had so much hatred in my heart for fallen in defeat? **Instead of laughter on her mouth, she found tears welling in her eyes as she tried to find a pulse in his neck. Her throat began to choke and her mouth started to quiver. Her heart felt like it was being wrenched in her chest. 

"You can't be dead..." she whispered in a hoarse gasp, "Kami-sama you can't...be...no I...it's not possible...I couldn't have killed you..." she found herself blabbering. "I couldn't have..." 

"Six...." the audience chanted along with Enna as she called out the numbers. "Seven....Eight....." 

"Kami-sama, you can't be dead....nooooo...." Fuuko spoke aloud, unable to control the sudden burst of emotion as she felt no pulse. The arena was suddenly stilled with her outburst. With her remaining strength she pulled the ensui-wielder's body from the debris it was under and cradled it on her lap. "You can't be dead...you can't be..." she pushed his eyelids open, as though trying to look for any sign of life. 

His eyes were blank. 

"Who said I was?" 

The audience, the Hokage team and everyone else who had the opportunity to be in that arena had their mouths hanging open as from the smoke that cleared appeared a second Desumasuku, armed with his ensui and who suddenly pounced on the just-as-surprised fujin-wielder. And before anyone could fathom what had occured, the melee cleared revealing Fuuko, now on her back on the arena floor,with her undead adversary towering over her, his booted foot planted on the base of her neck effectively pinning her down. She choked with the strength of his foot on her, but she was still able to mouth out her protest. 

"H-how...did...you...escape..." she sputtered. "I thought you were...dead..." 

"Mizu kugutsu." He declared boldly. At the corner of her eye, Fuuko noted that the form she had held earlier was now a puddle of water. "Water puppet. An illusion." A thoroughly amused grin found its way to his lips. "Not one of the ensui's better tricks, but in the hands of a master it is quite a weapon. Good enough to fool even the spirit or a powerful madougu." He spoke, referring to the kaze no kodama. 

Raiha was now on the throes of jumping into the arena to save his imouto-san. Only his companions had prevented him from doing so. 

"Fuuko wants this fight, Raiha nee-chan." Kaoru declared, even if he himself was on the verge of getting in the arena. "She would feel dishonored if we interfered on her part." 

"She is my little sister, Koganei." Raiha seethed in between his teeth. "I do not intend to bring home a corpse to our mother." 

"Desumasuku is a sly devil." Kai observed. "He had fooled everyone into thinking it was he who had received the end of the kaze no kodama, when in fact it was a mere creation of his ensui." He continued. "Normally that thing would have dissolved into water the minute the kaze no kodama made contact with it, but seemingly he had modified his technique, putting absolute concentration on it. Such mind power...." He shook his head, full knowing that the right man of the Uruha showed little if any mercy on his opponents. He was certain the former would kill the Hokage girl. 

"I am correct then," a smirk appeared on Tokiya's lips. "Your emotional weakness is what will cause your loss, and what will bring on my triumph." 

The tears that were welling in Fuuko's eyes, initially from heartbreak, had now fallen, this time in a fit of rage. "Well what are you waiting for you arrogant bastard?" she challenged despite the fear in her heart. "Finish me." 

"That I shall." he declared as he raised his sword to stab her. 

"Imouto-saaann....nooooo!!!!!" 

The voice of her niisan seemingly jolted Fuuko from her repose and with all her remaining strength she clutched at the tip of the ensui before it had the chance to drive itself through her heart. 

What she did not know what that at the very same moment she tried to stop him, Tokiya held on to the ensui, stopping in mid-air, a mere inch above Fuuko's heart. 

_No._

_I can't do this._

The hesitancy seemingly registered on his face, as the Uruha Kurenai called. 

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Mikoto cried. "Finish her off." 

"What the freakin hell is wrong with him?" Joker wondered aloud. "He stopped in mid-air." 

Kurei said nothing. 

And for a mere second time throughout the duration of their match that seemed forever, their gazes locked. Fuuko's teary, hate-filled gaze collided with Mikagami's determined, ice-cold stare. In that meeting of their lines of vision, a conversation seemed to take place in their heads. 

**You hesitate....What are you waiting for? Kill me. Isn't that what you want?**

_I can't. Kami-sama, I don't know why but I can't._

**I am ashamed of having been decieved by your treacherous madougu and my foolish heart. I cannot live with that. End my suffering now as I have no face to show my teammates, especially my niisan. Imagine...to feel mercy for he who wishes to see nothing but my demise! I hang my head in embarassment!**

_It's nothing to be ashamed of. Though I do not know why you had such a fear of the possibility of killing me. of course you've never done that, have you? You've not once desired to finish even he who had disgraced you, Fujimaru...or I who had wanted to crush you. You have a soft heart, Fuuko-san. It's going to cost you._

**Baka! Don't you think I realize that now? But it is too late. I hope Yanagi forgives me for my stupidity. Kami-sama but I am an idiot! I have no honor left to show my niisan or my friends. Fuuko no baka is a disgrace to the Hokage! Kill me off now assassin...it is better to end it this way than face them with shame. Ah...and I forget, well nearly forgot anyway, killing me also accomplishes your lifelong objective yes? To avenge your nee-chan. Two birds with one stone. You are a brilliant one, aren't you, Desumasuku? I salute your ingenuity.**

_Shut up! I'm doing this for the Uruha. It has nothing to do with my neechan. I know you didn't kill her._

**Maybe it wasn't me but it's one from my family I gather. What difference does it make? A life for another life. You're getting your revenge and its all that matters now. I hope it makes you happy. Do me a favor will you? Tell my niisan I'm sorry I let him down, and that I love him and my kaa-san very much. You will tell him that won't you?**

_I am not happy._

**Oh yes you are. You're finally getting your revenge. That's what you've been living for all this time, is it not? And maybe after this you'll go celebrate with your Uruha friends...have a drink or two...maybe a feast even. A toast for getting the revenge I have lived all my freaking life for and to the stupid girl from the Hokage who helped me get it...ha ha ha....**

_You have said quite enough, Kirisawa._

_You want me to finish this...yes?_

**Yes.**

_Then I shall...._

In a blink of an eye Fuuko released the tip of the ensui and Mikagami drove it forward. For a second the audience held its breath as the sharp edge of the water sword found its target. 

Fuuko closed her eyes, muttering a silent prayer as she accepted the verdict that has fallen upon her. 

She thought she felt the ensui graze the surface of her skin, but after that, she felt no pain. 

No pain. 

She dared open her eyes. 

Her tear-holden gaze met blue ones that burned...not with hatred, nor revenge...not with anger. 

But with concern....care....love? 

She followed the length of his madougu's blade and found it's tip. Not buried in her wounded body, but thrust ever so precisely in the middle of the miniature silver gem suspended on her neck. 

A mere breadth away from her jugular. 

With the skills honed through years of practice, Tokiya gave his sword but a twist, and the small silver artifact cracked into a hundred microscopic pieces. 

Fuuko felt as though her throat had gone dry. The missing half of the incriminating necklace that had hung about her neck was now nothing but a bitter memory. She risked a look at her adversary before her. He had ripped the other half of the necklace from his own neck and took a longing look at it before throwing it towards the bottomless abyss. His foot upon her was released and he no longer stood above her. She was still in awe that he had let her live when she saw him throw the ensui aside, the sword plunging near half its length on the arena floor with the force he threw it with. 

"T-tokiya...." 

"What the hell is he doing?" Joker exclaimed when his teammate threw his weapon aside. "Kurei-han you can't allow him to...." 

Mikoto interjected. "Kurei-sama, Desumasuku's betraying...." 

"Quiet." the head of the Uruha motioned the two assassins to keep their traps shut. "I want to see what he does next." 

"I have been denied my happiness once." Tokiya spoke in a voice only loud enough for him and his opponent to hear. "I will never be denied it again." 

"Tokiya..." 

She was taken aback when he kneeled before her, suddenly taking her in his arms and embracing her tight. Fuuko's eyes widened, not knowing how to react as his arms tighetened possesively around her. Instinctively she buried her face in the long mane of hair that flowed dramatically on his shoulder. She wound her arms around him as well, and released the tears that she had held so desperately back. 

"Forgive me...." he told her, his voice indicating that he was choking on unshed tears...tears he considered unmanly. "Forgive me for hurting you, Fuuko-san. Forgive me...." 

"Tokiya...." she whispered his name huskily. She was at a loss. 

"I have been robbed of my childhood happiness when they took my nee-chan away." he spoke in her ear. "All I ever wanted was to get back at them who murdered her. I thought it would restore me...make me glad...bring back the joy of a life I'd once known...." he paused before explaining. "But with you....I have found that joy all over again...being with you...it made me feel complete....as though I've regained what I had once lost. If I let my rage take over, allow myself to be blinded by my thirst for revenge...over something which was never your fault, I would've destroyed that which I have longed so much to get." 

"But that night...in the forest...you said..." 

"Only because Kurei-sama was there, amongst the shadows....with Aki and Neon." he explained. "They were listening, you didn't see them because your back was turned. If I told you...the truth...that I cared for you more than life itself, Kurei-san would have had you executed right before my very eyes to teach me a lesson." 

She withdrew, looking into his eyes to see any trace of treachery he might be plotting. Of which she appreciated none. All she ever noted was the relief in his eyes. That and what seemed to be what she felt right now. Overwhelming love. 

"I know you find it difficult to believe me." he spoke flatly, pulling away, his face visibly repentant. "I don't blame you. All those times, there was nothing I did but tell you lies....not too far-fetched from the truth, but lies nonetheless." His shoulders slumping, he backed away from her. When she said nothing, he stood up and began to walk away when she called him. 

"Tokiya-kun..." she spoke. 

He turned his head. Fuuko had stood up and dusted off her clothes. Her stare held on to his, and he braced himself for the judgment that was to come. 

"I forgive you." 

He could not believe his ears. He seemed to have been planted there with astonishment with her words. She walked towards him, saying nothing but sending him a message only hearts understood. 

And though what the audience witnessed was a wounded Hokage ninja approaching a stunned Uruha assassin, the two souls that stood before the arena saw differently. A silver-haired girl stood, clutching the place where her heart was, looking longingly at the love she had waited for for more than four hundred years. As he did, staring with overflowing affection for the most beautiful young woman he had ever laid eyes upon. She who had held on his heart for all eternity. It was the time they had waited for all the rest of their afterlives. 

To be reunited. 

For their love to be fulfilled. 

To be as one. For now. For ever. 

"No!!! This is not happening! It is not..." a female voice muttered through gritted teeth. "It's not true...it can't be...he doesn't want her...he loves me. It's me he wants...not her...not her..." 

An ear-piercing scream tore through the silent audience as Aki who was now seeing red, leaped quickly down to the announcer's table. She shoved Kashemaru who was sitting there and pulled his sword from him. Before anyone could do anything she threw the kodachi in a straight line, piercing through the air and headed straight towards Fuuko's chest. 

It happened so fast no one had been able to move. 

Save one. 

He had withdrawn his katana earlier to interfere in his imouto-san's match, ready to step in and get himself hurt or disqualified just to save her from imminent death. He had stopped in a heartbeat when his expert eye noted Mikagami's sudden change of heart a split second before he drove that sword into the necklace. With all his strength he sent his own sword flying towards the arena, whispering a silent prayer that it would get there just in time. 

It seemed all so unreal. Like a slow-motion picture, rolling....rolling in front of their eyes. 

Fuuko saw the kodachi headed straight for her. 

And felt Tokiya pushing her out of the way. 

But she saw another sword...her niisan's favorite katana speeding through the air...intended for.... 

The man she loved.... 

She scrambled to tackle him out of its path. 

She heard screams. 

And the clash of sharp metal colliding in mid-air. 

Then there was...blood...she saw it...or at least she thought she did as blotches of red sprayed on her eyes. It felt warm on her skin too...as it hit her face. She vaguely tasted it on the tip of her tongue. 

It was hard to tell. 

Because a heavy object fell upon her, knocking her off her feet and at the same time, she felt a stinging sensation on her shoulder as she felt something sharp pierce through it. 

Everything was dark after then. 

The breeze blew gently, disturbing the quiescent leaves of the sakura tree, sending the petals of its pristine white flowers dancing in the teasing midsummer wind. The sun got out from hiding behind the cottony clouds, burning brightly and spreading its rays towards the rolling hills of green below it. From behind the tree and alighting over the hill where it stood was a tall figure, dressed in an immaculate white suit, his long tresses bound by a ponytail to prevent it from being toyed around with the warm breeze that whipped the branches of the tree he stood under. He was holding a bouquet of multicolored flowers of different kinds, freshly picked that morning and arranged especially for him by Domon's mother who was only too happy to make it. She had teased him about the lucky recepient of the sweet-smelling blooms, to which he responded with laconic humor. 

He started walking down the grassy downhill path, careful not to step on any of the wildflowers growing on the field. He found his way to a manmade stone pathway that led to the place he intended to go. He sighed as he reached his destination, a fenced-in area that declared the privacy of it. He smiled to himself as he looked at the bouquet in his hand and put it down in its proper place before him. 

"Ishijima-san made this bouquet for you." he declared proudly. "Aren't they beautiful? I hope you like them. I chose the flowers myself and she arranged them. Really sweet of her to do so, don't you think?" 

There was no reply. 

"You will forgive me for not visiting you for the longest time, won't you? Things have been quite messy back in Tokyo. But all is well now. I have restored things in their proper place as I have promised you. I hope that you will be in peace now. It's what you've wanted for the longest time, is it not? So I did what had to be done." 

All that greeted him was absolute silence. 

He knelt at the tombstone before him and set up the incense he had brought along and lit them. He closed his eyes in prayer as the scent of burning incense filled the air, mingling with the delicate scents of the bouquet's blossoms and the smell of the summer air. Several minutes after speaking to the higher spirits, he opened his eyes and reached out to touch with the tips of his fingers the name carved so expertly on the slab of stone in front of him, an ache forming in his heart as he traced the kanji on it one by one. A tear fell on his cheek. 

It spelled Kirisawa. 

His memories drifted off again to the third Ura Buto Satsoujin, the bloodfest held in Mori Kouran's vast backyard. Funny how it seemed to be so distant a memory when it was no more than a year ago when it happened. The second match of final round, where Desumasuku of the Uruha was pitted against Kirisawa of the Hokage. It was a match made in hell, or so it seemed. The bloodthirsty audience had delighted in the skill each competitor showed, not realizing the intensity of the emotion that came along with it. But it wasn't just the battle itself that proved to be one of the most talked about after the tournament. It was what had happened afterwards that sparked theory and speculation to the point of nonsensical debate. When Tokiya Mikagami had refused to finish his opponent and had instead thrown his weapon aside in nonverbal surrender when he obviously had the upper hand. Followed by what the audience had considered as nothing but a mushy display of emotions none of them truly cared about, until it had seemingly sparked the anger of one female Uruha. Who had then charged from her seat in the crowd and using a stolen sword, attacked the combatants on stage. This then was followed by a counterattack from the side of the Hokage, when the purple-haired ninja threw his own katana into the melee in an effort to save his sister. Mikagami had pushed Kirisawa away from the trajectory of Aki's sword, but she had tried to tackle him out of the way when she saw her brother's sword, initially meant to displace the first one, seemed to be out of target. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but one of the theories to popularly abound was that somewhere along the way, there was a miscalculation. Aki's sword given its lightweightedness, was faster and had angulated differently than originally thought. By the way Mikagami was positioned, he had seemingly calculated it to pierce through nothing more than his arm muscle....a fatal mistake since it went through his upper chest instead. Raiha's sword was one second too late to prevent Tokiya's stabbing, but being a heavier sword it was able to knock Aki's kodachi off the Uruha's righthand-man....unfortunately, it had lost its direction and pierced through Fuuko instead, who at the time had knocked away Tokiya. 

The two bodies fell beside each other in the arena, the blood flowing freely from their wounds. 

Both combatants were unconscious. 

The fight was labelled a draw. 

There was a commotion afterwards, with each side scampering to their fighter's rescue. Domon, his eyes drowning in tears, had picked up Fuuko's bloody body and had carried it to the infirmary. Kurei was the first to arrive on Mikagami's side, standing above his favorite footsoldier, the eyes looking through the mask cold and unfaltering. 

"Give me a good reason why I should bail your stupid carcass out of this mess." he stated in a tone of suppressed fury. 

"You shouldn't." Tokiya spoke through the blood flowing from his mouth. "I failed to deliver my promise of victory." he stated. "I have let you down.....should you punish me now...should you let me die...I wouldn't be too surprised." He managed to let out a hoarse chuckle. "Although....I must confess....I know of only one crime I am truly guilty of...and I admit to it as much..." 

Kurei snarled out his response. "Treachery. Betrayal. Treason. How would like me to put it up for you, hmmm?" He put his boot on Mikagami's already battered abdomen, pressing upon it. 

The younger man merely shook his head weakly. "I am guilty, but not of that which you accuse me of." 

The scarred one angrily bent down and took Tokiya by the lapels of his costume, pulling him violently and drawing his face a mere six inches from the other man's own. He sputtered out his question in rage. "And what would it be then?" 

Tokiya met his superior eye to eye. "I fell in love with someone I'm not supposed to." 

His words stung at Kurei, causing him to throw Tokiya back upon the floor. He was muttering a multitude of curses as he ordered the arena to be cleared for the next match, leaving his former right- hand-man to bathe in his own blood, to wallow in a slow agonizing death. Tokiya felt his lids getting heavy, his limbs growing weak, his body strength fading as the blood on his torso continued to flow. He had wanted to get up to see how Fuuko was doing but he could not summon the strength to do so. For the first time in his life he felt so utterly helpless. His eyes were partway shut when he felt powerful arms lifting his broken body and he was being carried off. The last he saw was a huge man whose face was near covered by his long dreadlocks. He thought he heard him say it was going to be alright. 

"Kai." was the last word he uttered before he totally lost consciousness. 

The truth of Mikagami Mifuyu's death had then been slwoly unfolded, with testimonies from Kai and Raiha that complemented each other. After the bitter divorce with Fuuko & Raiha's mother, Takahiro Kirisawa had gone off into a deep depression which led him to lose his job. The bills he had to pay for legal services added fuel to the fire. By the time he had gotten out of his personal abyss there was barely anything left for him to live by, and he had a son to feed. He had resorted to petty jobs, digging ditches, collecting garbage, taking up any work that would get him and his little boy through the day. One day he had found an ad in a newspaper that needed a driver, and with a lucrative pay to go with it. He had answered to it and was hired immediately. Little did he know it was the biggest mistake he was to make. 

It had been too late to back away when Takahiro found out his job description. He stared in horror as his employers, a handful of mercenaries under the wing of the corrupt Mori Kouran, attack a young girl and her little brother. He had been told to wait outside with the car as the other men *saw to their business*. He had grown impatient and had taken to looking through the window, where he had to witness the brutal murder scene. He was so stunned by what he saw that when the men came scampering out, he was still planted by the window. 

The next thing he knew, one of the men had pulled him away, as a little boy, around ten years old he had guessed, came charging through the door. The kid had bravely pounced on him and pulled one of the lapels on his shirt. One of his companions had a tug-of-war with the child with him as the rope in between. With one final tug, he had broken away from the boy's grip, but the force of it had torn a piece of his necklace, a cheap silver trinket that his former wife Rumiko had given him years before. The last thing he remembered was pulling out of the driveway in a rush and hearing a young boy's wailing in between his companions cursing. 

He was never able to forget that horrifying scene. It was like a nightmare playing in his head over and over again. He could not get over the guilt he felt, even if he did not take part in the killing and all he did was drive the getaway vehicle. It ate at him day and night. The prodding in his conscience was even worsened when he saw the same boy again, this time in the company of the man who had given Takahiro's companions the order to seek and destroy. 

Meguri-sama. 

The boy had been taken under the wing of the man who had ordered his sister's murder. 

He was in danger. 

But unbeknownst to Takahiro, Meguri Kyoza figured him out already, that he was feeling guilty for himself and was afraid for the boy he had recently acquired. Before Kirisawa had a chance to sing, his demise was plotted out and executed. 

But not before he could confess to his then eleven-year old son, Raiha. 

"Promise me...." Takahiro spoke hoarsely as he tried to squeeze out his last remaining breath on his deathbed. "That you will find this boy....and tell him who killed...who plotted his sister's murder...find him...masuko...please..." 

The boy's tear-strained face looked into his father's. "Oto-san, I promise you...I will....I will find him." 

"Oto-san handed me the silver necklace, telling me that the other half was probably with the boy who had broken it in two during the struggle. That I should use it to track you down." Raiha told Mikagami when they were in the infirmary and Mikagami's wounds were being treated. "That is why I had it in my possession." his face grew dark as he recalled his father dying in his arms. "I swore then that I would one day find you and tell you the truth. My father was not among your sister's murderers. He was but a witness. Unfortunately I had not known where to find you. My father had passed into the other life before he could tell me your name or what you look like, so I had to start from scratch. It took me years, but I did find you." he smiled slightly, as he had fulfilled his childhood promise to his dad. "I was looking for just the right moment to tell you...but I never got the chance." 

"Forgive us." Raiha said, "My oto-san...and I...we ask for your forgiveness." 

All Tokiya could manage at the time was a nod. He was physically weakened by his condition but his thinking was intact. He had forgiven the Kirisawa family for their sins...or at least the one he had initially percepted....back in the arena. But right now, he was fighting a life and death battle as he thought of a score he had yet to settle, for his peace of mind and for his sister's eternal repose. 

Meguri-sensei. 

The figure clad in white bit his lip at the memories thinking of the Ura Buto Satsoujin brought to him. They were bitter ones, though the closing parts of it brought him an inner sense of peace. The nightmare that had begun a near decade ago has now ended. He had since started his life anew. He had gotten off on the right foot this time, and though there were still things he wish weren't so, he knew that some things could not be changed. 

"Niisaaaaannnn!!!!" 

Raiha stood up from where he kneeled and turned to face the voice who had called him from high atop the hill. He shielded his eyes from glare of the sun and made out two figures standing, hand in hand, beneath the tree where he had stood earlier. 

"You got ahead of me by a mere five minutes." she declared. 

"Well if you weren't so busy powdering your nose, you'd have gotten here earlier." he teased, laughing as she stuck her toungue at him. His heart swelled with happiness as he heard her let out a mirthless laugh. It was nearly unthinkable that he had nearly lost her in the Tournament of Death. The way she had looked now, dressed in a sleeveless white blouse and jeans, her hair slightly longer and no longer bound by her customary headband, her cheeks aglow and warm from just being out in the sun, was a sharp contrast from what she had looked back then as her friends carried her out from the arena. Deathly pale and bleeding from the wound she had chosen to receive from an aftercoming sword. It was a miracle she was alive. Though he contributed her continued existence from the magical powers of Yanagi, he acknowledged the fact that some power from above had intervened to allow his dearly beloved sister to live. 

"Tokiya-kun was such a slowpoke choosing the flowers." she reasoned, elbowing the man whose hand intertwined with hers. She turned her face towards him. "If Ishijima-san wasn't so besotted with your good looks I'm sure she would've decked you for taking forever to pick the roses." 

A smile tugged at the corner of Tokiya's mouth. "Me? It was you who keep interfering with the floral arrangement." he teased. 

Raiha smiled as the two began bantering who took longer with the flowers. His eyes returned to the tombstone before him. He thought he saw their father's soul smiling at him and at the twosome on the hill. When he turned to look at them again, Raiha was taken aback as he saw something else. Instead of seeing Fuuko and Tokiya, he caught glimpse of two rather unfamiliar persons. Dressed in outfits designed as Hokage ninjas, was a tall, well-built man with unruly purple hair and a beautiful silver-haired woman. And although he didn't know who they truly were, he recognized his sister's face on the man's and Mikagami's face on the woman. Could it be the legend he had heard of from his grandfather...who had told of the story of two warriors with an unfulfilled promise of undying love? He remembered that story well from his childhood....two Hokage ninjas...Mizumi and Yukaze...and their promise to return to the afterlife to be together. Of course he had thought it was nothing but a tale his grandpa had conjured up, but now... 

He blinked repeatedly. 

It was Fuuko and her beau again. 

Raiha shook his head. 

The sun was playing tricks on his eyes. 

"Your niisan is looking strangely at us." Tokiya said. 

"He's probably just missing his girlfriend." she laughed. "She's been away for like...months." 

"I guess so." He released her hand and put his hand on her cheek. "Hell, I'd miss you too if you were away...even for just a day." His hands now cupped her face. "I don't want to be apart from you...ever..." 

A hint of a smile lifted a corner of her mouth. "You know you get cornier every day." she pouted, but the amusement in her eyes gave her away. 

"Well so do you." he spoke, his face inching closer towards her. "You are the mushiest person I have ever come across." He laughed throatily. "Where did that tomboy Fuuko Kirisawa go anyway? That no-nonsense, quick-tempered, warfreak cyclone I first met and fell in love with?" 

"She's still here..." she whispered as his mouth came closer to her own. "Just as much as that cynical, pokerfaced, laconic Tokiya Mikagami is still within you..." 

"I love you....regardless..." 

"I love you too." 

The words were silenced as their lips met in a kiss that seemed to shake the very earth beneath their feet. The basket of flowers fell from Fuuko's hand as her arms went around her beloved's. It was a gentle kiss they shared, but the impact was just as powerful as the more passionate ones they exchanged, the effect just as magical. She opened her eyes and stared into the bluest eyes she had ever come across. The love shining in them warmed her over as it never failed to do. 

"I'll never lose you again." he promised. "Never." he paused to brush a hair strand on her forehead. "I've waited too long. This time, we'll be together for all eternity." 

"Me too." she spoke. "We'll make it right. We won't let anything or anyone get in the way." 

"I can't believe I had even thought of killing you. It was..." 

She stilled him with a finger on his lips. "We've talked about that over and over again Tokiya-kun," she said. "We've both made mistakes. You allowed yourself to be blinded by hate and vengeance. I had let myself be decieved and be scorned by lies you had made to protect me. We've had our faults but we've put it all behind us. And I think the fact that we've forgiven each other says it all. We've got new lives ahead of us. Let's not let the past ruin it." 

"Yes...indeed, we have." 

They stared a long while at the open fields of green before them, not realizing that they stood at the exact same spot where four hundred years ago, their ancestors first made their promise to one another. To come back and make true their pledge of eternal love, which they now renew as they've returned in the guise of another. The couple merrily made their way downhill when Raiha called them. Their picnic lunch was going to get cold if they waited any longer. The threesome were later joined by other friends, Recca, Yanagi, Kagero, Domon, Ganko and Shigeo Hanabishi and they spent the day revelling in the new life the rest of them were to lead. 

Had any of them looked back to the cherry tree on the hill, they would've made out two images, the same ones Raiha thought were products of his imagination. They held hands, as they have always had since they reunited in the Arena of Death not too long ago, and they no longer had tears on their eyes, rather, they had smiles on their lips. They were together now. Never to be torn apart by man or any other force of nature. 

"The time has come." he spoke first. 

She nodded in approval. 

"Yukaze-san...." she said. "You think perhaps they would be affected by our departure...I mean..." 

He shook his head. "Their love is genuine, Mizumi-chan." he replied. "I too, at first thought that they were attracted to one another because of our presence...but I know now it is not." 

"Such a shame if it would affect them." she laughed. "They make a cute couple you know. I mean, look at Mikagami...he's such a heartbreaker with those baby blues and that gorgeous silvery mane...if I were alive and real I'd...." 

His mouth sealed off any other comments she had to make. Initially caught unaware, Mizumi simply closed her eyes and savored the warm kiss she was recieving from him. It was soft...sweet..tender...and the first one she's had in four hundred years..... 

Her eyes were still closed when he lifted his lips from hers. When she opened them, she saw a glitter of amusement in her beloved's stare. "What's so...funny?" she asked. 

He chuckled. "I was thinking if maybe I should've done that four hundred years earlier...would've save both of us a lot of trouble." 

She snorted. "If you'd done that four hundred years earlier you'd only have one ear left." 

"Somehow I don't buy that." Yukaze teased, much to Mizumi's disapproval. 

"Arrogant snot." she stuck her tongue at him. "Maybe I should let you chase me around for another four centuries..." 

A ray of light broke through the clouds at that very moment, shining upon the two souls beneath the sakura tree. It was their signal, and with that, they took each other's hand, casting one last look at their descendants and finally taking ascent to the skies. They looked forward to joining their fellow Hokages who now made residence in the Great Beyond. After all, it took them four hundred earth years of wandering to find one another. With their promise fulfilled, they can now spend eternal peace in each other's arms. They've put off entering the pearly gates for too long a time, but this was true no more. Heaven shall wait no longer. 

~OWARI~   
~aka THE END~   
*****really it is*****   
12:58 pm November 3, 2002 

FUUKO NO MIKO'S FINAL POST-CHAPTER RANTING 

Okaaayy...finally I got around to finishing this. Gawd! What an apt title, no? Heaven Awaits. *_* Gomen ne for taking *forever*. I had multiple conflicts at hand for this, namely REAL LIFE and getting stuck at the storyline numerous times. As you can see, fight scenes and love scenes are rather difficult for me to write. So here it is at last, and no I will hang you no longer...my dear, wonderful readers. Thank you for your continued support and patronage, and for making this fic my most read and reviewed piece of work. My heart goes out to all of you. ARIGATOU GOZAIMASE!!!! This is dedicated to all my fellow Rekka no Honoo fans, the Tokiya-Fuuko lovers/haters...(yeah I know who you are, and I don't mind that you dissed my other fanfic Hearts At Play. That's your opinion and I respect that) and the Raiha/Fuuko lovers as well. If you remember, I dedicated this fic to the Tokiya Mikagami of my life who, in the course of time, changed into different persons. Well now, it is just one, the only one, the true one, and who also happens to be the first one. Too bad we couldn't have an ending the same as the Tokiya & Fuuko in this fic. Ah well, life goes on ne? 

Also, I cut down a wee bit on the mush. If I put it on any longer, this fic will take an eternity to finish....even Yukaze and Mizumi wouldn't dare wait for the ending. I also inserted the part where the two spirits leave our heroes in. It wasn't in my original idea, but I put it since the fic began with them and I thought it was but appropriate to end it with them too. 

Lastly, I omitted putting the epilogue of the real Rekka no Honoo here, what happened to Kurei & co., and all the other characters. That's for you guys to read so no spoilers here. Keep on reading, loving and supporting our favorite Anzai Noboyuki masterpiece!!!! Take care y'all and have a good day in fanficdom!!! 

Should I put a prologue to my next fic? Hint: Joker-Neon, my favorite oddball couple, ha ha ha! 

Naaah, nevermind. 

^_~ Fuuko no Miko (fuukonomiko@yahoo.com)   
  



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